LeBron James has been a champion of the people for quite some time. Through the years, James has contributed and acted as a spokesperson for various social movements and has utilized his position for considerable good.
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Amongst the social causes James advocates for, ‘Black Lives Matter’ and the general upliftment of the African-American community as a whole have been constant features. And naturally, LeBron has constantly raised his voice at instances of racial injustice.
With such a background, it naturally caught LeBron’s attention that Twitter has been acquired by Elon Musk – an incident linked to a spike in racially insensitive content on the social media platform.
And LeBron James wasn’t going to sit tight and observe. Sharing a tweet that reported a 500% surge in the use of the N-word on Twitter, LeBron took his protest public.
I dont know Elon Musk and, tbh, I could care less who owns twitter. But I will say that if this is true, I hope he and his people take this very seriously because this is scary AF. So many damn unfit people saying hate speech is free speech. https://t.co/Sy0jvXIBnC
— LeBron James (@KingJames) October 29, 2022
However, James’ statement hasn’t met with unanimous support. American author Jason Whitlock for starters called out LeBron James with an allegation of being a hypocrite.
What did Whitlock have to say about LeBron’s protest on Twitter?
Jason Whitlock was of the opinion that LeBron James is not well-positioned to tweet what he tweeted. This arises from concern in Whitlock that LeBron is a hypocrite.
The author’s reasoning? The fact that James himself uses the N-word in public which he believes is not the best example to set.
The King’s affiliation to the Hip-Hop industry, wherein usage of the N-word is commonplace, and his lack of protestation to the same also met Whitlock’s scrutiny.
LeBron only wants to hear the N-word in rap music. It’s a term of endearment in rap. When LeBron dropped the N-word on HBO’s The Shop it was a good thing. But now it’s scary AF. Gotcha. https://t.co/eP4ICz2QBq
— Jason Whitlock (@WhitlockJason) October 29, 2022
When a term of endearment in one form and culture is offensive in another, the view one takes has to be measured and careful. And it appears Whitlock believes James has failed in his duty therein.
Both parties here have considerable talking points to make. Both are right in their own way. But let us not let the important part that there is an alarming Twitter trend on the rise, be forgotten.
A tough start to the season has been a big headache for LeBron. A ‘hypocrite’ tag isn’t easing pressure on the veteran in his bout with Father Time.
How bad a start have LeBron and the Lakers had to this point?
The Lakers are the only team in the NBA to start the season 0-5. The biggest contributor here has arguably been horrible shooting across the floor.
The LA outfit has recorded the worst shooting start to an NBA season by a franchise. A paltry 22.3% conversion rate from beyond the arc has led the Lakers to that unwanted record.
Their struggles seem to have been worsened by an injury bug too. This has been highlighted by the fact that AD and Westbrook have already missed time to start the season.
To make things worse, the Lakers don’t even own their pick in the 2023 NBA draft. A bad season with a pot of Wembanyama at the end is also therefore impossible for the LA franchise.
It seems like whatever can go wrong, is going wrong for the Lakers. With the spotlight on, the noise will only increase. Can the Lakers turn things around?
