When comparing the reactions of NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and LeBron James to U.S. events with the egregious abuses in China, those two are some piece of work. The NBA issued a statement decrying vigilantism in the U.S., but the league and James seemed to be tongue-tied over the disappearance of Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai. She accused a high-ranking Chinese communist of raping her and went missing for a period of time.
“Cowardly” doesn’t begin to describe James and Silver. It’s no wonder James’ former teammates revealed they see him as a complete phony.
Twelve-year NBA veteran Enes Kanter of the Boston Celtics said, "I had so many conversations with LeBron’s ex-teammates and even they are the one[s] that told me that LeBron, all he’s doing is own PR and everything he’s doing trying to stand up for things is not that he really feels about it."
James stood loudly against Kyle Rittenhouse last week after a jury acquitted him of murder for multiple shootings during a 2020 riot in Wisconsin following the Jacob Blake shooting.
He’s had plenty more to say about social justice in the U.S. for the past several years, always taking radical left-wing positions. When Serena Williams melted down and acted like a childish idiot in a 2018 loss at the U.S. Open, James claimed she was “fighting for equality.”
The NBA also issued a BS statement denouncing American vigilantism. As far as missing Chinese athletes … not a word.
On Nov. 2 Shuai posted a message on a Chinese social media platform telling the world that Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli had raped her two years ago. The dictators quickly shut down her social media and she was missing for more than 2 weeks before finally reappearing in public, but concern for her well-being and ability to speak and move freely remains.
James first thinks of the Chinese dictatorship as a mega-source of money. The same goes for Silver. China’s enslavement of ethnic minorities doesn’t rise to their level of “fighting for equality.” Nor does the highly suspect absence of a Chinese dissident.
After Kanter exposed James for this hypocrisy, James deflected the China issue to make it about his favorite person: himself. “He’s definitely not someone I would give my energy to. [He’s] trying to use my name to create an opportunity for himself.” But what about China, LeBron? Nothing.
One can almost hear China’s leaders telling James and Silver, “Job well done. Stand by for further instructions.”
