LeBron James Nixes Tweet: 'Used to Create More Hate'

NBA star takes heat for posting photo of white cop who shot Ohio teen, along with 'You're Next'
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 22, 2021 10:26 AM CDT
LeBron James Tweets on Ma'Khia Bryant Shooting, Then Deletes
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James during a game against the Charlotte Hornets on March 18, 2021, in Los Angeles.   (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Outcry continues on the police shooting of a 16-year-old Black girl in Columbus, Ohio, on Tuesday, right before the verdict on Derek Chauvin was announced. One big name who's been speaking up about the killing of Ma'Khia Bryant: NBA star LeBron James, who drew flak himself for what some said was an inflammatory tweet, per Deadline. James posted a picture of Nicholas Reardon, the white police officer who shot Bryant, along with the caption: "You're Next," as well as an #Accountability hashtag and an hourglass emoji. James, who ESPN notes hails from Akron, about a two-hour drive from Columbus, soon took down that tweet, however, after critics started accusing him of threatening Reardon.

"Lebron James is inciting violence against an Ohio police officer," GOP Sen. Tom Cotton tweeted. "Is the NBA okay with this? Is Twitter?" James explained why he ended up scrubbing the tweet in a follow-up post. "I'm so damn tired of seeing Black people killed by police," James started off, before noting he took his other tweet down "because its being used to create more hate." He added: "This isn't about one officer. [It's] about the entire system and they always use our words to create more racism." NBC News notes that James then suggested he'd let his feelings overtake him, though he added that his anger "still is here for what happened that lil girl. My sympathy for her family and may justice prevail!" (New developments on the Ma'Khia Bryant case here.)

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