Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James sparked some intense internet debate recently when he made it crystal clear how he felt about having to travel to Memphis to play the Memphis Grizzlies.
“At 41 years old, you think I’m gonna do that (expletive)? In Memphis on a random (expletive) Thursday?” James said in a video shared on social media by Legion Hoops.
“I’m not like the first guy to even talk about this in the NBA,” James said. “We’re all like ‘You guys have to move.’ Just go over to Nashville.’”
Many people on social media pegged James’s take as being anti-black, as Memphis has a relatively large black population in comparison to much of the country, and even some figures in sports media took it there, including ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, who accused him of being insensitive.
However, former NBA star Charles Barkley doesn’t think any racialization of the issue needs to be made by anyone.
“LeBron said he didn’t like Memphis or Milwaukee. And for some reason, everybody went crazy on the Memphis part because then they turned it into race, which is the best way to get idiots and fools talking about anything,” Barkley said to Ernie Johnson on the latest episode of The Steam Room podcast.
“Every loser in the world wants to be racist. And Stephen A. jumped in, Jason Whitlock jumped in, Cam Newton jumped in, Ryan Clark jumped in, and Matt Barnes dropped in. Oh, these are all brothers. Yo, man. What the f*ck are you all doing, man? LeBron don’t like Memphis. Okay!”
“LeBron said something about Memphis and the world took over, they made it about race, which is what anybody does when they want to stir up controversy. Y’all are successful!” he continued. “Stephen A., you’re one of the most successful people we have in television. Come on, man. Y’all got to do better, man.”
Interestingly, Stephen A. expressed a similar sentiment as James only last year, blasting Memphis as an NBA city, making his criticisms of James awfully hypocritical.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.