Love him or hate him, LeBron James is one of the most impactful athletes in the world. Being the face of the NBA and the franchise player of the Los Angeles Lakers, his words and actions carry a different kind of weight.
Notably, professional athletes don’t have to be role models. They’re entitled to their opinions and their flaws. But when someone of LeBron’s presence reacts or posts on social media, it’s likely to have a massive domino effect.
That was at a full display last week when the four-time NBA Champion posted a rather controversial meme on his social media accounts. It was so blunt that he even deleted him shortly after.
LeBron James Posts And Deletes Spiderman Meme Comparing COVID-19 With The Flu
James has been far from satisfied with the COVID-19 protocols since his false-positive test several weeks ago. Last Thursday, he took it a whole to a new level by posting a Spiderman meme that read “Covid, flue, cold” as if they were the same.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Calls Out LeBron James Over Now-Deleted Meme
Needless to say, it was already too late and the picture went viral in the blink of an eye. That’s why Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar didn’t hesitate to share his thoughts on James’ decision to post this meme.
(Transcript via Kareem Abdul-Jabbar)
“LeBron James is not only one of the greatest basketball players ever, he’s committed to being a leader in the African American community in the fight against inequality. But his Thursday Instagram meme showing three cartoon Spider-Men pointing at each other—one labeled “covid,” one labeled “flu,” one labeled “cold”—with his message: “Help me out folks” was a blow to his worthy legacy. The meme’s implication is that Lakers star doesn’t understand the difference among these three illnesses, even after all the information that’s been presented in the press. Well, since he asked, let me help him out by explaining the difference—and how knowing that difference might save lives, especially in the Black community.
To directly address LeBron’s confusion, no one thinks colds and the flu aren’t serious. In the 2019-2020 flu season, 400,000 people were hospitalized and 22,000 people died. In 2020, 385,428 people died of COVID-19, while so far in 2021, 423,558 have died in the U.S., for a total of 808,986 deaths. Experts agree that COVID-19 is at least 10 times more lethal than the flu. As for the common cold, death is extremely rare.
However, LeBron James, if you’re concerned about the flu, then help promote the flu vaccination. In the 2019-2020 flu season, only 51.8% in the U.S. were vaccinated, well below the 70% that is the target. Worse, the vaccination rate is 20% lower among Blacks than whites and as a result they have the highest hospitalization rate due to flu of any other group. This is due to vaccination hesitancy that your meme promotes.
One way to help the Black community to overcome their hesitancy and save lives is for prominent Black celebrities and influencers to continue to encourage everyone to get vaccinated and their boosters. Immunization, whether from vaccines or having had the disease, lessens over time and makes people vulnerable for reinfection.
While LeBron is a necessary and dynamic voice critical of police brutality against the Black community, he needs to be the same necessary and dynamic advocate with vaccines, which could save thousands of Black lives right now. The racism is just as real—and just as lethal—in both cases.”
Well, ouch. This isn’t the first time that Kareem has had plenty to say about James’ stance on COVID-19 and vaccination. And, while James has been heavily criticized by multiple people in the past, no one has Kareem’s weight and credibility around the league.
At the end of the day, it’s not like LeBron has a true obligation to anybody else but him. But in reality, he’s worked so hard to become an example and a leader that he must be aware of the fact that every little thing he says, does, or doesn’t do can impact thousands of people.