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. Thatās why Donald Trump supporters often call him out for his silence on Chinaās 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 ā very lucrative ā NBA market out there and the league risked losing billions.
Enes Kanter Blasts LeBron James Over Ties With Nike
James, whoās Nikeās main athlete and whose shoes are made in China, was silent on the protests and only said that Morey wasnāt fully educated about the matter, sparking even more controversy.
Now, months later, Boston Celtics big man ā and well-known LeBron hater ā 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:
āMoney over Morals for the āKing.ā Sad & disgusting how these athletes pretend they care about social justice. They really do āshut up & dribbleā 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?ā Kanter wrote on a Tweet.
Kanterās Been Calling The NBA Out For A While Now
This isnāt 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 doesnāt actually support them:
āI remember it was our first game. It was at Madison Square Garden and I wore āFree Tibetā shoes and went out there,ā Kanter said in an interview. āI remember right before the game, there were two guys from the NBA came up to me and say, āYou have to take your shoes off, we are begging you.ā
āNBA made me do this,ā claimedKanter. āBecause 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.ā
āHe told me, yes. We are supporting you against China. ⦠I donāt know how much that is true. Because if they were really supporting me, they wouldāve put something out there. They would have put some kind of statement,ā he concluded.
Needless to say, this is going to give a lot to talk about over the next couple of days. Kanterās activism has put him in the spotlight more often than not, so weāll see if LeBron will respond or stay silent.





