LeBron James: 'I Can't Sit Back' as Donald Trump Uses Sports to Divide America
Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James has never been shy about voicing his opinion of President Donald Trump, and that continued during an interview with CNN's Don Lemon.
James told Lemon on CNN Tonight he believes Trump is using sports to divide the country:
"What I've noticed over the past few months [is] he's kinda used sports to kinda divide us, and that's something that I can't relate to," James said (via CNN's Jason Kurtz). "... I can't sit back and say nothing."
James famously called Trump a "bum" after Trump rescinded a formal White House invitation to the NBA champion Golden State Warriors:
Warriors star Stephen Curry and head coach Steve Kerr had already indicated they preferred not to make the traditional trip to the nation's capital.
Trump's actions and comments toward the NBA are relatively tame compared to what he has said about the NFL, especially regarding the player protest movement throughout the league.
"Wouldn't you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, 'Get that son of a bitch off the field right now. Out! He's fired. He's fired!'" Trump said to supporters during a rally last September.
The New York Times Ken Belson and Mark Leibovich reported in April team owners held a meeting with player representatives and NFL officials in October to "[find] a way to avoid Trump's continued criticism."
NFL owners formally approved a new policy in May that mandated team personnel stand when present on the sideline during the national anthem. Those who didn't wish to stand could remain in the locker room. Trump, however, was unmoved by the decision, telling supporters having players stay in the locker room was "in many ways [is] worse" than the old standard.
The NFL and NFL Players Association released a joint statement earlier this month to announce the league was putting a hold on the amended anthem policy and "no new rules relating to the anthem will be issued or enforced for the next several weeks."
