Four-time NBA champion LeBron James hit out at Swedish soccer star Zlatan Ibrahimovic on Friday, saying there’s no reason why he can’t have as much impact on the basketball court as he can. James became a force for social change in America, focusing much of his attention on police brutality and racial injustice against African Americans. He was outspoken against Donald Trump over the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin last summer, and he worked with other NBA stars to try to get black people to vote during the recent US election that brought Joe Biden to power.
“I kind of want to go to the wrong guy because I do my homework,” James said after the Los Angeles Lakers’ 102-93 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night.
James responded to Ibrahimovic’s comments earlier this week that athletes should “stay out” of politics, mentioning James by name and calling him out for his political activism.
“(LeBron) is great at what he’s doing, but I don’t like it when people get some status, they go and do politics at the same time,” Ibrahimovic said.
Speaking in an interview for UEFA for Discovery+ in Sweden, the outspoken striker said it’s a “mistake” when athletes step out of their lane.
Ibrahimovic said, “I don’t do politics… When people become famous and they become a certain status, that’s the first mistake. Stay away from it. Do what you do well because it doesn’t look good.”
James helped found the More Than a Vote organization that increased voter turnout in black neighborhoods. The party mobilized more than 40,000 volunteers to work at the polls during the November federal election.
James said winning championships is one thing but inspiring and empowering people and uniting Americans is just as rewarding.
“At the end of the day I will never be silent about things that are wrong. I preach about my people and I preach about equality, social injustice, racism, voter suppression. Things that go on in our community,” James said.
“There’s no way I’ll ever stick to sports. I know how strong my voice is.”
James said he likes to think he’s the start of something big in sports.
“You see young guys talking about things that they think are unfair,” he said. “For a long time we’ve heard, ‘As an athlete you should be grateful to be able to throw the ball, dribble the ball, swing the baseball bat. You shouldn’t be talking about anything else.’
“That’s not the case anymore. It won’t be that way for much longer.”
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