Trump’s Attacks on LeBron Will Lead Other Athletes to Speak Out

Following LeBron James commenting on CNN last week that President Trump was attempting to use sports to divide people, the Commander in Chief fired back at the King on Twitter.

Lebron James was just interviewed by the dumbest man on television, Don Lemon. He made Lebron look smart, which isn’t easy to do. I like Mike!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 4, 2018

That tweet, in addition to riling up the internet, led Michael Jordan to release the following statement: “I support LJ. He’s doing an amazing job for his community.”

The comment is brief but also telling because of the person behind it. Jordan was notorious for staying out of political discussions during his playing days at one time and even once said “Republicans buy sneakers, too.”

Now, thanks to Trump’s attacks, Jordan is speaking out – and he’s not the only one.

In the wake of Trump going after James, Boston Celtics legend hopped on Twitter to offer his support to the new Los Angeles Laker.

At this time & place for any African American, @KingJames @donlemon @RepMaxineWaters @repjohnlewis & #NFL plyrs to be criticised by @realdonaldtrump means you must be doing something right! As I have said before- Its the biggest compliment you can get. @TwitterSports @MSNBC @CNN

— TheBillRussell (@RealBillRussell) August 5, 2018

Then, at the NFL Hall of Fame induction ceremony over the weekend, Randy Moss felt compelled to use his platform to call attention to the social injustice which has caused the NFL national anthem protests which have vexed the president to no end.

Randy Moss' tie he wore tonight pic.twitter.com/RreQNkkNmZ

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) August 5, 2018

“With great powers come great responsibility,” Moss said on ESPN. “You asked me about my tie. We all know what’s going on. You see the names on my tie. Being able to use a big platform like this at the Hall of Fame – what I wanted to express with my tie is to let these families [of the young people] know that they’re not alone. I’m not here voicin’, but by these names on my tie and a big platform at the Pro Football Hall of Fame, there’s a lot of stuff going on in our country and I just wanted to let these family members know that they’re not alone.”

Now that the floodgates have opened, expect athletes to follow in Russell, Moss, and Jordan’s lead.