After landing in hot waters over a classic tweet and delete gaffe on Wednesday, Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James once again spoke about the shooting of Ma’Khia Bryant in Columbus, Ohio. It was another case of a police officer firing shots at an African-American civilian. This one happened near James' hometown of Akron, Ohio, which further elicited a response from The King.
James doubled down on his earlier sentiments demanding accountability, regardless of the circumstances surrounding the harrowing incident.
LeBron James was criticized earlier for posting a photo of the law enforcement officer who shot and killed the 18-year-old Bryant. The four-time NBA MVP wrote “YOU'RE NEXT”, a reference to the recent guilty verdict of policeman Derek Chauvin over the murder of George Floyd. However, it was later revealed that Bryant was about to stab another civilian and the officer had no choice but to fire at her. More details about the incident remain scarce at the moment, but it seems LeBron jumped the gun by coming to conclusions.
In a separate tweet, the Lakers megastar has since apologized for acting out of anger without knowing the full story first. While The King acknowledged his mistake, he stood by his demand for accountability and echoed the ongoing fight against racial injustice.
LeBron, of course, is a vocal supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement. It seems he clearly did not intend to create hate with his initial tweet. But given his massive influence, a lot of people perceived it that way.