A.C. Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic refused to change his stance even after hearing the side of LeBron James regarding his ‘shut up and dribble' tirade over the past few weeks. He further defended his notion of athletes sticking to playing their sports and not meddling with politics which can be taken care of by the politicians themselves, via SportsCenter.

The entire debacle was initiated by Zlatan Ibrahimovic who previously claimed that LeBron James is a stellar athlete but needs to focus on playing basketball instead. He then used himself as an example of how an athlete should be.

Via Discovery+ on Twitter:

“I like (James) a lot,” Ibrahimovic said. “He’s phenomenal, what he’s doing, but I don’t like when people with a status speak about politics. Do what you’re good at doing.

“I play football because I’m the best at playing football. I’m no politician. If I’d been a politician, I would be doing politics.

As expected, the four-time NBA MVP didn't hold back as he aired his reaction regarding the attack that he received from the Zlatan Ibrahimovic. James claimed that he has a right to have an opinion and use his platform to make an impact, especially for the African-American community.

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Via Glynn A. Hill of Washington Post:

“I would never shut up about things that’s wrong,” James said after the Lakers’ victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night. “I preach about my people and I preach about equality, social injustice, racism, systematic voter suppression, things that go on in our community.”

Being involved in social issues is not new for LeBron James who already had exchanges with former U.S. President Donald Trump, Fox News anchor Laura Ingraham, and now Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The two sports personalities may have different opinions on the subject matter but it goes to show how divided society is today, especially regarding the issue of racism and politics in general.