LeBron James compared Ohio voting for Trump to one of the most infamous draft mistakes in NBA history
Jason Miller/Getty
James, who called Trump a "bum" on Saturday after Trump rescinded the Golden State Warriors' invitation to the White House, spoke at length on Monday about Trump, national anthem protests, and the state of the country.
James chided Trump, saying he is trying to divide people and doesn't understand the power of the presidency.
James said that people who voted for Trump made a mistake and suggested it was related to a lack of education about the issues. He then compared Ohio voting for Trump to the Trailblazers drafting Sam Bowie ahead of Michael Jordan in the 1984 NBA draft.
"I don't think a lot of people was educated," James said And I think that's one of the biggest problems when it becomes vote time is that people are just not educated on either the individual or what's going on ... I don't think a lot of people are educated, and they make choices and say things that's uneducated. Am I saying that the people of Ohio wasn't educated and some of the people in the other states that voted for him was uneducated? They could have been or they could not have been, but that doesn't mean it was the right choice.
"You can go back in the history of time of sports and say the same thing because we keep bringing sports and politics into it, so you could look back at some of the greatest drafts of all-time and say that, 'Okay, did the Trail Blazers make the right choice when they took Sam Bowie?' I mean, can we all stand up here and say they should have took Michael Jordan?"
James said even though Ohio voted for Trump, it would be wrong for him to turn his back and not continue to try and help the state through his off-the-court work.
"For me as a professional athlete in this state, and even though this state voted for Trump, that doesn't stop me from inspiring the people of the state and inspiring the youth," James said.
James also said that he respects the NFL players protesting the national anthem and said if he owned an NFL team, he would sign Colin Kaepernick "today." However, he also said he doesn't plan to protest or take a knee during the anthem this season, saying he believes his time and resources could be put to better use off of the court.
The NBA season has only just begun, and from the sounds of it, this won't be the last time James speaks out against Trump.
- Colon cancer rates are rising in young people. If you have two symptoms you should get a colonoscopy, a GI oncologist says.
- I spent $2,000 for 7 nights in a 179-square-foot room on one of the world's largest cruise ships. Take a look inside my cabin.
- An Ambani disruption in OTT: At just ₹1 per day, you can now enjoy ad-free content on JioCinema
- In second consecutive week of decline, forex kitty drops $2.28 bn to $640.33 bn
- SBI Life Q4 profit rises 4% to ₹811 crore
- IMD predicts severe heatwave conditions over East, South Peninsular India for next five days
- COVID lockdown-related school disruptions will continue to worsen students’ exam results into the 2030s: study
- India legend Yuvraj Singh named ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 ambassador
- JNK India IPO allotment date
- JioCinema New Plans
- Realme Narzo 70 Launched
- Apple Let Loose event
- Elon Musk Apology
- RIL cash flows
- Charlie Munger
- Feedbank IPO allotment
- Tata IPO allotment
- Most generous retirement plans
- Broadcom lays off
- Cibil Score vs Cibil Report
- Birla and Bajaj in top Richest
- Nestle Sept 2023 report
- India Equity Market