LOS ANGELES – LeBron James responded to Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s criticism of his activism and involvement in “political” and social injustice issues.
“I will not silence things that are wrong,” LeBron James said after the Los Angeles Lakers’ victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night. “I preach about my people, about equality, social equality, racism, systematic oppression, oppression of the citizen vote, things like that happen in our community, because I was part of my community and I saw what happens.”
The former LA Galaxy star and current AC Milan player criticized LeBron for interfering in political issues, as he said in an interview for UEFA on Discovery + in Sweden. The always controversial Zlatan said that while he admired LeBron’s talent, it was a mistake when athletes engaged in social and political issues taking advantage of his status, instead of focusing on his sport.
“I’m the wrong person to attack, because I’m an educated mind, I do my homework before I comment,” LeBron said.
Indeed, LeBron James did his homework and called Zlatan a hypocrite who, in 2018, criticized the media in his native Sweden. The striker called racism the fact that the press attacked him and said that they did not give him credit for his career because it is not the last name “Andersson or Svensson”. He described this as “undercover racism”.
“I find it funny that he says that because he is the same person who, in 2018, when he was in Sweden, complained that his last name was not a certain last name in his country and he felt that there was racism,” he said. reminded the Lakers star.
LeBron James is actively using his platform to promote social causes. He ran a campaign in the last presidential election in the United States, encouraging voting; He has raised his voice on police brutality and racism, has schools and projects that help the community in his hometown of Akron, Ohio, to name a few.
“I have more than 300 children in my school who go through the same things (which I went through) and they need a voice and I am their voice. I continue to use my platform to bring to light situations that continue to arise not only in my community, but also in my country and in the world. I can’t just focus on sports, because I understand how this platform works and the power that my voice has “, concluded LeBron.