Zlatan Criticizes LBJ's Social Activism: LBJ Responds
Zlatan Criticizes LBJ's Social Activism: LBJ Responds
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/309 ... ick-sports
Dave McMenamin
ESPN Staff Writer
LeBron James dismissed Zlatan Ibrahimovic's criticism of his social activism and pointed out the hypocrisy of the AC Milan star's comments on Friday.
Ibrahimovic, whose time playing for his former team, the LA Galaxy, coincided with James' first season with the Lakers, criticized James on Thursday in an interview with UEFA for Discovery+ in Sweden, saying it was a "mistake" and "doesn't look good" when James and other "famous" people get involved in politics.
"He was the same guy who said when he was back in Sweden ... because his last name wasn't a certain last name, that he felt there was some racism going on when he was out on the pitch," James said. "I speak from a very educated mind, so I'm kind of the wrong guy to actually go at because I do my homework."
Several years ago, Ibrahimovic said he was subject to "undercover racism" in his native Sweden because his Bosnian roots gave him a surname that doesn't sound traditionally Swedish.
"I am not Andersson or Svensson," Ibrahimovic told Canal+ in 2018, referring to what he considered racist treatment from the media. "If I would be that, trust me, they would defend me even if I would rob a bank. They would defend me, I tell you."
James was undeterred by Ibrahimovic's stance against him and explained why he approaches off-the-court issues in the manner that he does.
"I would never shut up about things that are wrong," James said following the Lakers' 102-93 win over the Trail Blazers on Friday night. "I preach about my people, and I preach about equality. Social injustice. Racism. Systematic voter suppression. Things that go on in our community.
"Because I was a part of my community at one point and saw the things that was going on, and I know what's going on still because I have a group of 300-plus kids at my school that are going through the same thing, and they need a voice. And I'm their voice. I'm their voice, and I use my platform to continue to shed light on everything that may be going on, not only in my community, but around this country and around the world.
"So, there's no way I would ever just stick to sports, because I understand how this platform and how powerful my voice is. "
James went on to credit former WNBA player Renee Montgomery, who became a part-owner of the Atlanta Dream on Friday after the league put pressure on former Sen. Kelly Loeffler, a Republican who opposed WNBA players' racial justice initiatives last summer, to sell her share of the team.
"You can just ask Renee Montgomery, if I would have shut up and just 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 feel proud to be a part of a generation where our voices are heard and guys are speaking from an educated mindset," James said. "But more importantly, when you speak from your heart, it rings bells even louder.
"And we've got a lot of guys speaking from the heart that didn't believe they had a voice at one point in time, or now they're coming into it and they 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 his hometown, but also provides affordable housing, a meal program and job training for the students' families.
His More Than a Vote organization was also instrumental in mobilizing more than 40,000 volunteers to work at polling centers in November's 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 should be thankful to be able to dribble a ball or run a football or be able to do the 100-yard dash or be able to swing a baseball bat and things of that nature, You shouldn't be able to speak about anything else, no matter if it's right or wrong, you should just do that. But that's not the case. That's not the case anymore. As long as I'm around, it won't be the case for a long time."
Bell
Dave McMenamin
ESPN Staff Writer
LeBron James dismissed Zlatan Ibrahimovic's criticism of his social activism and pointed out the hypocrisy of the AC Milan star's comments on Friday.
Ibrahimovic, whose time playing for his former team, the LA Galaxy, coincided with James' first season with the Lakers, criticized James on Thursday in an interview with UEFA for Discovery+ in Sweden, saying it was a "mistake" and "doesn't look good" when James and other "famous" people get involved in politics.
"He was the same guy who said when he was back in Sweden ... because his last name wasn't a certain last name, that he felt there was some racism going on when he was out on the pitch," James said. "I speak from a very educated mind, so I'm kind of the wrong guy to actually go at because I do my homework."
Several years ago, Ibrahimovic said he was subject to "undercover racism" in his native Sweden because his Bosnian roots gave him a surname that doesn't sound traditionally Swedish.
"I am not Andersson or Svensson," Ibrahimovic told Canal+ in 2018, referring to what he considered racist treatment from the media. "If I would be that, trust me, they would defend me even if I would rob a bank. They would defend me, I tell you."
James was undeterred by Ibrahimovic's stance against him and explained why he approaches off-the-court issues in the manner that he does.
"I would never shut up about things that are wrong," James said following the Lakers' 102-93 win over the Trail Blazers on Friday night. "I preach about my people, and I preach about equality. Social injustice. Racism. Systematic voter suppression. Things that go on in our community.
"Because I was a part of my community at one point and saw the things that was going on, and I know what's going on still because I have a group of 300-plus kids at my school that are going through the same thing, and they need a voice. And I'm their voice. I'm their voice, and I use my platform to continue to shed light on everything that may be going on, not only in my community, but around this country and around the world.
"So, there's no way I would ever just stick to sports, because I understand how this platform and how powerful my voice is. "
James went on to credit former WNBA player Renee Montgomery, who became a part-owner of the Atlanta Dream on Friday after the league put pressure on former Sen. Kelly Loeffler, a Republican who opposed WNBA players' racial justice initiatives last summer, to sell her share of the team.
"You can just ask Renee Montgomery, if I would have shut up and just 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 feel proud to be a part of a generation where our voices are heard and guys are speaking from an educated mindset," James said. "But more importantly, when you speak from your heart, it rings bells even louder.
"And we've got a lot of guys speaking from the heart that didn't believe they had a voice at one point in time, or now they're coming into it and they 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 his hometown, but also provides affordable housing, a meal program and job training for the students' families.
His More Than a Vote organization was also instrumental in mobilizing more than 40,000 volunteers to work at polling centers in November's 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 should be thankful to be able to dribble a ball or run a football or be able to do the 100-yard dash or be able to swing a baseball bat and things of that nature, You shouldn't be able to speak about anything else, no matter if it's right or wrong, you should just do that. But that's not the case. That's not the case anymore. As long as I'm around, it won't be the case for a long time."
Bell
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Re: Zlatan Criticizes LBJ's Social Activism: LBJ Responds
Zlatan is an eediot. he should take his own advice and shut up.
Wha choo looking at?!
Re: Zlatan Criticizes LBJ's Social Activism: LBJ Responds
Agreed totally.Scipio Africanus wrote:Zlatan is an eediot. he should take his own advice and shut up.
He can’t even dismiss it as Euro Ignorance
cuz he has lived in America and should
have seen how important social justice is.
Anyway he has always come across as an
Ignorant prick so one shouldn’t be surprised by him.
Re: Zlatan Criticizes LBJ's Social Activism: LBJ Responds
...if athletes shout stay away from politics, reality tv gurus, ala Donald Trump, should stay away from politics too. Some people open mouth and yarn just like that. Ibra should shut up.
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Re: Zlatan Criticizes LBJ's Social Activism: LBJ Responds
Ibra is sounding daft.
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Re: Zlatan Criticizes LBJ's Social Activism: LBJ Responds
What do yall expect from s classless troll
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Re: Zlatan Criticizes LBJ's Social Activism: LBJ Responds
Low performing Zlatan comes across as not educated. He needs to pull a team out of trouble for me to consider him a good player.
Man is comfortable in His imperfection but uncomfortable in His perfection. Me. (Inspired by Karol Józef Wojtyła - Crossing the Threshold of Hope)
Re: Zlatan Criticizes LBJ's Social Activism: LBJ Responds
How did Milan do when he left?joplass wrote:Low performing Zlatan comes across as not educated. He needs to pull a team out of trouble for me to consider him a good player.
Re: Zlatan Criticizes LBJ's Social Activism: LBJ Responds
Zlatan doesn't come from a culture where this kind of thing is normal.
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Re: Zlatan Criticizes LBJ's Social Activism: LBJ Responds
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-56222894Basketball superstar LeBron James has come out fighting after Swedish football legend Zlatan Ibrahimovic told him to stay out of politics.
Ibrahimovic said in a TV interview sports figures like James should not get involved as "it doesn't look good".
James fired back: "I will never shut up about things that are wrong."
Pointing out Ibrahimovic's own past complaints about racism in Sweden, James said: "I'm kinda the wrong guy to actually go at... I do my homework."
The two are megastars in their respective sports.
Ibrahimovic, in an interview with UEFA and Discovery+ in Sweden, criticised the political activism of sports stars.
"Do what you're good at. Do the category that you do. I play football because I'm the best at playing football, I'm no politician. If I'd been a politician, I would be doing politics.
"This is the first mistake famous people do when they become famous and come into a certain status. For me it is better to avoid certain topics and do what you're best at doing, because otherwise it doesn't look good."
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Re: Zlatan Criticizes LBJ's Social Activism: LBJ Responds
For those who want to know the real Ibra...read on his spats with Onuoah before he left MLS...hint similar to Lukaku
"That Justice is a blind goddess
Is a thing to which we blacks are wise.
Her bandage hides two festering sores
That once perhaps were eyes."
Langston Hughes, 1923
Is a thing to which we blacks are wise.
Her bandage hides two festering sores
That once perhaps were eyes."
Langston Hughes, 1923
Re: Zlatan Criticizes LBJ's Social Activism: LBJ Responds
Zlatan is not qualified to lecture Lebron on social activism, period!!
For my sceptical Nigerian Friends : Pessimism is great because you are either always right or pleasantly surprised.
Re: Zlatan Criticizes LBJ's Social Activism: LBJ Responds
MY TAKE
Prominent public figures do not lose their right to speak on contemporary issues just because they’re well known. Not to say their position has greater validity than that of any other citizen but because they carry a bigger megaphone, they get a lot of attention.
Some of them have chosen to stay out of politics for fear of public reaction or of losing sponsorships. Many of us like them when they speak for us but hate them when they take a contrary position. It may be that Zlatan merely disagrees with the position LeBron takes on the issues; or he’s jealous of the attention LeBron is getting. After all, LeBron is only doing what European Leagues are doing vis-a-vis racism.
Personally, I’m in total agreement with what LeBron is doing. In Fact, he was a victim of racism after he relocated to LA with graffiti scrawled on his new home. And he backs his involvement with giving. As many know, recalling hos own disadvantaged upbringing, he’s built a school for the poor in his hometown of Akron, OH and carries a lot of the extra-curricular costs around the school – he’s putting his money where his mouth is.
Social activism is an American tradition with the likes of Arthur Ashe, the black-gloved Olympic runners, Mohammed Ali, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, etc. On the other side, you had the likes of the Commodores who accepted an apartheid S. Africa invitation because millions of dollars were too much to pass up. (As I asked at the time, if the well to do cannot pass it up, is it the poor who should?).
Zlatan may have spent a brief stint in America but who knows how much he understood the social situation or tradition? If Zlatan has chosen not to speak, that's his right but more power to LeBron.
Bell
Prominent public figures do not lose their right to speak on contemporary issues just because they’re well known. Not to say their position has greater validity than that of any other citizen but because they carry a bigger megaphone, they get a lot of attention.
Some of them have chosen to stay out of politics for fear of public reaction or of losing sponsorships. Many of us like them when they speak for us but hate them when they take a contrary position. It may be that Zlatan merely disagrees with the position LeBron takes on the issues; or he’s jealous of the attention LeBron is getting. After all, LeBron is only doing what European Leagues are doing vis-a-vis racism.
Personally, I’m in total agreement with what LeBron is doing. In Fact, he was a victim of racism after he relocated to LA with graffiti scrawled on his new home. And he backs his involvement with giving. As many know, recalling hos own disadvantaged upbringing, he’s built a school for the poor in his hometown of Akron, OH and carries a lot of the extra-curricular costs around the school – he’s putting his money where his mouth is.
Social activism is an American tradition with the likes of Arthur Ashe, the black-gloved Olympic runners, Mohammed Ali, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, etc. On the other side, you had the likes of the Commodores who accepted an apartheid S. Africa invitation because millions of dollars were too much to pass up. (As I asked at the time, if the well to do cannot pass it up, is it the poor who should?).
Zlatan may have spent a brief stint in America but who knows how much he understood the social situation or tradition? If Zlatan has chosen not to speak, that's his right but more power to LeBron.
Bell
Re: Zlatan Criticizes LBJ's Social Activism: LBJ Responds
What has he won? He's been in some of the biggest teams in Europe.kalani JR wrote:How did Milan do when he left?joplass wrote:Low performing Zlatan comes across as not educated. He needs to pull a team out of trouble for me to consider him a good player.
Man is comfortable in His imperfection but uncomfortable in His perfection. Me. (Inspired by Karol Józef Wojtyła - Crossing the Threshold of Hope)
Re: Zlatan Criticizes LBJ's Social Activism: LBJ Responds
League title after league title, scoring title after scoring title. Still is amongst the top scorers in Italy despite the fact he will be 40 this fall.joplass wrote:What has he won? He's been in some of the biggest teams in Europe.kalani JR wrote:How did Milan do when he left?joplass wrote:Low performing Zlatan comes across as not educated. He needs to pull a team out of trouble for me to consider him a good player.
Re: Zlatan Criticizes LBJ's Social Activism: LBJ Responds
Many players win league titles and personal scoring titles after scoring against small teams, we are talking trophies at the Euro level. Zlatan is not at the level of Drogba, Eto'o, and Kanu...that's all I am saying. He has a big mouth tho.kalani JR wrote:League title after league title, scoring title after scoring title. Still is amongst the top scorers in Italy despite the fact he will be 40 this fall.joplass wrote:What has he won? He's been in some of the biggest teams in Europe.kalani JR wrote:How did Milan do when he left?joplass wrote:Low performing Zlatan comes across as not educated. He needs to pull a team out of trouble for me to consider him a good player.
Man is comfortable in His imperfection but uncomfortable in His perfection. Me. (Inspired by Karol Józef Wojtyła - Crossing the Threshold of Hope)
Re: Zlatan Criticizes LBJ's Social Activism: LBJ Responds
He is better than both Kanu and Drogba.joplass wrote:Many players win league titles and personal scoring titles after scoring against small teams, we are talking trophies at the Euro level. Zlatan is not at the level of Drogba, Eto'o, and Kanu...that's all I am saying. He has a big mouth tho.kalani JR wrote:League title after league title, scoring title after scoring title. Still is amongst the top scorers in Italy despite the fact he will be 40 this fall.joplass wrote:What has he won? He's been in some of the biggest teams in Europe.kalani JR wrote:How did Milan do when he left?joplass wrote:Low performing Zlatan comes across as not educated. He needs to pull a team out of trouble for me to consider him a good player.
Re: Zlatan Criticizes LBJ's Social Activism: LBJ Responds
Please provide link if you have any, thanks.furiously frank wrote:For those who want to know the real Ibra...read on his spats with Onuoah before he left MLS...hint similar to Lukaku
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Re: Zlatan Criticizes LBJ's Social Activism: LBJ Responds
Reason # 3467 why i cant stand Ibrahimovic. Overrated striker that has won jack $@#%. He isnt even the best striker in Sweden's history. Imbecile.
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Re: Zlatan Criticizes LBJ's Social Activism: LBJ Responds
kalani JR wrote:He is better than both Kanu and Drogba.joplass wrote:Many players win league titles and personal scoring titles after scoring against small teams, we are talking trophies at the Euro level. Zlatan is not at the level of Drogba, Eto'o, and Kanu...that's all I am saying. He has a big mouth tho.kalani JR wrote:League title after league title, scoring title after scoring title. Still is amongst the top scorers in Italy despite the fact he will be 40 this fall.joplass wrote:What has he won? He's been in some of the biggest teams in Europe.kalani JR wrote:How did Milan do when he left?joplass wrote:Low performing Zlatan comes across as not educated. He needs to pull a team out of trouble for me to consider him a good player.
Of course he is better than Kanu in your eyes. EEdiot like you. Is he better than your fellow Cameroonaian Eto too? Moron.
I AM THE EXCELLENCE OF EXECUTION- BRET THE "HITMAN" HART.
The Neo Nueves Hart foundation: R.Onyedika, M.Usor, Y.Sor, A.Adeleye, A.Okonkwo, N.Tella, A.Yusuf, E.Onyenezide, V.Lopez, O.Olusegun.
The Neo Nueves Hart foundation: R.Onyedika, M.Usor, Y.Sor, A.Adeleye, A.Okonkwo, N.Tella, A.Yusuf, E.Onyenezide, V.Lopez, O.Olusegun.
Re: Zlatan Criticizes LBJ's Social Activism: LBJ Responds
I don't get why people try ride Kanu's nuts so hard, is it for what he did at Arsenal? Yakubu was a better contributor to the Super Eagles than him even Owambefemi Martins was better for the Eagus.bret- hart wrote:kalani JR wrote:He is better than both Kanu and Drogba.joplass wrote:Many players win league titles and personal scoring titles after scoring against small teams, we are talking trophies at the Euro level. Zlatan is not at the level of Drogba, Eto'o, and Kanu...that's all I am saying. He has a big mouth tho.kalani JR wrote:League title after league title, scoring title after scoring title. Still is amongst the top scorers in Italy despite the fact he will be 40 this fall.joplass wrote:What has he won? He's been in some of the biggest teams in Europe.kalani JR wrote:How did Milan do when he left?joplass wrote:Low performing Zlatan comes across as not educated. He needs to pull a team out of trouble for me to consider him a good player.
Of course he is better than Kanu in your eyes. EEdiot like you. Is he better than your fellow Cameroonaian Eto too? Moron.