LeBron James deleted a Twitter post calling for police “accountability” in the shooting death of a teenage girl in Columbus, Ohio, after he was accused of inciting violence against the cop.
On Wednesday, April 21, 2021, King James posted a tweet of the Columbus cop who shot and killed teenager Ma’Khia Bryant on Tuesday with the caption “YOU’RE NEXT #ACCOUNTABILITY.” He later deleted it but not before it was screenshot and went viral.
Well, this isn't a good look for King James….. pic.twitter.com/BLSbUhpxgb
— Richard Lecco (@rdlecco) April 21, 2021
Bryant was seen on the bodycam wielding a knife and heading toward another girl in the driveway of a house. The officer can be heard on video saying “Get down!” before firing four shots at the girl, killing her on the scene. The officer is on administrative leave while the case is under review by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation.
James was born and raised in Akron, about 125 miles northeast of Columbus, the state capitol.
LBJ, 36, later deleted the tweet because he said his words were being deliberately and nefariously twisted to make it appear that he is seeking a vendetta against the officer.
Later, James told his 50 million Twitter followers that he was articulating his anger and disgust at yet another Black person being killed by a White police officer.
ANGER does any of us any good and that includes myself! Gathering all the facts and educating does though! My anger still is here for what happened that lil girl. My sympathy for her family and may justice prevail! 🙏🏾✊🏾🤎👑
— LeBron James (@KingJames) April 21, 2021
I’m so damn tired of seeing Black people killed by police. I took the tweet down because its being used to create more hate -This isn’t about one officer. it’s about the entire system and they always use our words to create more racism. I am so desperate for more ACCOUNTABILITY
— LeBron James (@KingJames) April 21, 2021
James’ critics were quick to respond.
I love the Twitter algorithm sometimes. 😂
These tweets were back to back on the “King James” trending topic. pic.twitter.com/0Xc7SDB2MS
— Alex Lara (@Alex_Lara10) April 22, 2021
Almost immediately, James backers emerged to defend the Los Angeles Lakers superstar.
I’ll accept no King James slander. Never been in a bit of trouble. Raised a great family. Started a school for kids. Created a media empire through positive storytelling. LeBron stood on the shoulders of giants and met every challenge. pic.twitter.com/Zptyu1rMd9
— Chris Palmer (@ChrisPalmerNBA) April 22, 2021
Another Twitter user used more choice words to show her support for LBJ:
“Lebron James built a f—ing school for Black children. Your President got sued for MILLIONS for creating a fake school.”
85% of the people mad at king james right now look like this pic.twitter.com/8GE48IEhy9
— bruhhhhhhh (@some_ban) April 21, 2021
Yep, fake outrage. Was Merak Burr a threat to kill some innocent citizen after he drives away from the cops on his own,with a gun on his seat? Yet no shots fired . Same state ,different behavior from the cops. We know why.
— Chief of GMs (@gms_of) April 22, 2021
The fact that these outraged people are calling out Lebron but still calling him “King James” pic.twitter.com/fFSCMSC38H
— Carolina Smash 🍙 (@Pro_Calibur) April 22, 2021
https://twitter.com/CLESteve4/status/1385006908759740424
King James trigger all the white Americans & I love to see it 😂😂 morons defending a man killing a 15 yr old girl in the street.
— daviddough (@daviddough3) April 21, 2021
