LeBron James rejected Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s criticism of his social activism and pointed to the hypocrisy of AC Milan star’s comments on Friday.
Ibrahimovic, who played for his former LA Galaxy team, coincided with James’ first season with the Lakers, criticized James on Thursday in a UEFA interview for Discovery + in Sweden, saying it was a “mistake” and no”. it looks good ”when James and other“ famous ”people are engaged in politics.
“It was the same thing he said when he came back to Sweden … because his last name wasn’t a certain last name, he felt there was some racism when he came out on the field,” James said. “I speak from a very polite mind, so I’m the wrong person I have to go to because I do homework.”
A few years ago, Ibrahimovic said he was subjected to “covert racism” in his native Sweden, because his Bosnian roots gave him a surname that doesn’t sound traditionally Swedish.
“I’m not Andersson or Svensson,” Ibrahimovic told Canal + in 2018, referring to what he considered a racist treatment of the media. “If that were the case, trust me, they would defend me even if I robbed a bank. They would tell me they would defend me.”
James was not discouraged by Ibrahimovic’s stance against him and explained why he addresses out-of-court issues the way he does.
“I would never shut up about things being wrong,” James said after the Lakers ’102-93 victory over the Trail Blazers on Friday night. “I preach about my people and I preach about equality. Social injustice. Racism. Systematic suppression of voters. Things that happen in our community.
“Because I was part of my community at one point and I saw things happening, and I know what’s going on because I have a group of over 300 kids at my school who live the same thing, and they need a voice. And I am his voice, I am his voice and I use my platform to continue to shed light on everything that may be happening, not just in my community, but in this whole country and around the world.
“So there would be no way to keep me in sports, as I understand what this platform is like and the power of my voice.”
James credited former WNBA player Renee Montgomery, who became a partial owner of the Atlanta Dream on Friday after the league pressured former Sen. Kelly Loeffler, a Republican who opposed racial justice initiatives of WNBA players last summer to sell their share of the team.
“You can ask Renee Montgomery if she was silent and dribbled [what would have happened]James said, later referring to the two-time WNBA champion as a “beautiful Black woman.”
James also credited Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics, Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs and Alvin Kamara of the New Orleans Saints for their commitment to social justice issues.
“It makes me proud to be part of a generation where our voices are heard and the boys speak from an educated mindset,” James said. “But more importantly, when you speak from the heart, it sounds even louder.
“And we have a lot of guys who speak from the heart who didn’t think they had a voice at some point, or now they go in and see that they can have a voice and that their voice really matters. That makes me proud.”
James’ I Promise School, in Akron, Ohio, not only educates hundreds of at-risk children in their hometown, but also offers affordable housing, a meal program, and job training for student families.
His organization More than a vote was also instrumental in mobilizing more than 40,000 volunteers to work at polling stations in the November general election in an effort to thwart voter suppression.
“As athletes, we’ve been hearing this for a long time,” James said. “You should [feel] privileged. You’ll have to be able to dribble a ball or run a soccer ball or be able to do the 100-yard run or be able to do a baseball bat and stuff like that. You shouldn’t be able to talk about anything else, regardless of whether it’s right or wrong, you should just do it. But this is not the case. That is no longer the case. As long as it’s close, it won’t be like that for a long time. “