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Basketball star LeBron James is no stranger to controversy, criticizing former president Trump, blasting Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones for asking his players not to kneel during the national anthem, threatening a police officer on Twitter, insulting America, supporting China despite its human rights record, taking strong stances on social justice, and much more. Sunday he continued making waves by blasting out a tweet supporting Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson, who was suspended for more than half the season in the wake of dozens of sexual assault lawsuits.
None of that seemed to bother the Los Angeles Lakers superstar:
Yessir D Watson!! Another one. That boy getting his rhythm back! #Browns
— LeBron James (@KingJames) January 1, 2023
Watson settled a majority of the suits and was not criminally prosecuted. Reaction to James’ tweet was quick, however, and most of it was not kind:
— BetOnline.ag (@betonline_ag) January 1, 2023
This user asked an important question:
Deshaun Watson got his rhythm back from what?
— Razzball (@Razzball) January 1, 2023
Here are some other pointed responses:
LeCanceled
Thought he was hacked for a second no way this is real
Jesus, LeBron. Read the room.
Dude… he’s not coming back from an injury…
Super unfortunate stance from an otherwise standup guy. This stinks.
You stopped being a cowboys fan because of Jerry Jones but you are now actively rooting for Deshaun Watson!?
LePleaseDeleteThis
My son is a huge fan of you.. he no longer will be supporting you after this tweet. Supporting Watson is no message you should be sending to the young kids out there. What’s next you will tweet about R Kelly?
The moral compass of professional sports cheering on his favorite sexual deviant
Watson was suspended for 11 games and fined $5 million by the NFL after more than two dozen massage therapists accused him of inappropriate conduct and sexual assault. Although two Texas grand juries declined to issue indictments, the NFL ruled that Watson violated their personal conduct policy.
— Run it back, B (@runitbackB) January 1, 2023
Watson returned to the field December 4 and has since posted a 3-2 record, including Sunday’s 24-10 win over the Washington Whatever-They’re-Called-These-Days that LeBron was so proud of.
The tweet is an extremely poor look for James, who is already the most hated player in the NBA, and seems exceptionally hypocritical for a man who applauds his own wokeness at every opportunity. While I believe someone can earn redemption, Deshaun Watson hasn’t even been back for a month. Give it some time, LeBron, for heaven’s sake. And I know you’re into movements like BLM and social justice—but what, did the whole #metoo thing pass you by? Or is it just not important enough for you?
If you’re going to be a woke superstar, you don’t get to pick and choose your moments to speak out. To focus on some social justice issues and completely ignore others makes you look like a hypocrite.
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