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LeBron James: 'I'm So Damn Tired of Seeing Black People Killed by Police'

Blake SchusterSenior Analyst IIIApril 22, 2021

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James dribbles during an NBA basketball game against the Charlotte Hornets Thursday, March 18, 2021, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

LeBron James is continuing to speak out against police violence toward the Black community after Columbus, Ohio officer Nicholas Reardon shot and killed 16-year-old Ma'Khia Bryant on Tuesday.

In a series of tweets, James expressed the need for more accountability while pointing to the systemic nature of police killing Black people across the country. This came after James tweeted and then deleted an image of Reardon with the caption "YOU'RE NEXT," followed by an hourglass emoji and "#ACCOUNTABILITY."

The tweet received criticism for potentially invoking violence toward police, which James addressed:

LeBron James @KingJames

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

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

James had previously tweeted "ACCOUNTABILITY" following the conviction of former Minnesota officer Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd.

Bryant was killed around the same time the jury in Minnesota returned three guilty verdicts to Chauvin for second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.

Police body-camera footage from Bryant's killing shows a physical altercation between three individuals with an individual identified as Bryant holding a knife. Reardon shot four times at Bryant. She was pronounced dead at a local hospital shortly after.

"You cannot get over the fact that you have a teenager who's dead and that's a horrible, horrible tragedy," Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said Wednesday. "We have to look at the facts."

The officers were responding to a report of an attempted stabbing on the southeast side of town.

The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is currently investigating the killing.