LeBron James has always been a polarizing figure around the NBA. Nonetheless, the controversies around him no longer seem to be related to the comparisons to Michael Jordan or his basketball skills.
James has taken a stance for social justice causes and made a name for himself for being a big philanthropist. That’s why Donald Trump supporters often call him out for his silence on China’s child labor situation and protests.
The NBA experienced tense times when former Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey sent out a tweet supporting protesters in Hong Kong. The Chinese government threatened to kill the — very lucrative — NBA market out there and the league risked losing billions.
Enes Kanter Blasts LeBron James Over Ties With Nike
James, who’s Nike’s main athlete and whose shoes are made in China, was silent on the protests and only said that Morey wasn’t fully educated about the matter, sparking even more controversy.
Now, months later, Boston Celtics big man – and well-known LeBron hater – Enes Kanter made the most of the chance to call him out for those comments. Kanter showed his custom-made sneakers and took a big shot at James on social media:
“Money over Morals for the “King.” Sad & disgusting how these athletes pretend they care about social justice. They really do “shut up & dribble” when Big Boss (China) says so. Did you educate yourself about the slave labor that made your shoes or is that not part of your research?” Kanter wrote on a Tweet.
Kanter’s Been Calling The NBA Out For A While Now
This isn’t the first time that Kanter calls out the NBA. Earlierthis season, he called Commissioner Adam Silver a hypocrite, claiming that the league encourage players to take a stand, yet doesn’t actually support them:
“I remember it was our first game. It was at Madison Square Garden and I wore ‘Free Tibet’ shoes and went out there,” Kanter said in an interview. “I remember right before the game, there were two guys from the NBA came up to me and say, ‘You have to take your shoes off, we are begging you.”
“NBA made me do this,” claimedKanter. “Because every time when one of the NBA teams or the commissioner came out and speak, they encourage players to talk about whatever they want to talk about. We are giving freedom to our players to talk about all the injustices happening around the world, human rights abuse around the world, so they told me to do this, basically.”
“He told me, yes. We are supporting you against China. … I don’t know how much that is true. Because if they were really supporting me, they would’ve put something out there. They would have put some kind of statement,” he concluded.
Needless to say, this is going to give a lot to talk about over the next couple of days. Kanter’s activism has put him in the spotlight more often than not, so we’ll see if LeBron will respond or stay silent.