LeBron Jamesā comments on the recent fatal police shooting of MaāKhia Bryant angered one Ohio bar owner so much that he has vowed to no longer show NBA games at his establishment.
āIf anyone wants to watch an NBA game, donāt come to Linnieās Pub,ā Jay Linneman, owner of Cincinnatiās Linneās Pub, wrote on Facebook, according to MSN. āWe will not air them until Lebron James has been expelled from the NBA.ā Linneman also reportedly said that he thinks NBA players ājust need to play the game and thatās itā and that ātheir opinion doesnāt really matter.ā
Upon hearing this news, James responded in a tweet, āAww Damn! I was headed there to watch our game tonight and have a drink! Welp.ā
On Wednesday, James took to Twitter to express his anger over the death of Bryant. He posted a photo of Nicholas Reardon, the officer who killed the 16-year-old in Columbus, Ohio on Tuesday. āYOUāRE NEXT #ACCOUNTABILITY,ā James wrote, alongside an hourglass emoji. The former Cleveland Cavaliers player is a native of Akron, Ohio, which is around 125 miles from Columbus.
James later deleted the tweet and offered an explanation. āIām so damn tired of seeing Black people killed by police. I took the tweet down because its being used to create more hate. This isnāt about one officer itās about the entire system and they always use our words to create more racism. I am so desperate for more ACCOUNTABILITY.āĀ
In a prior tweet, James wrote, āANGER 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!ā
Bryant was killed on the same day that a jury found Derek Chauvin guilty on three counts of murder for the shooting of George Floyd. When Donald Trump caught wind of Jamesā comments, he released a statement, labeling James āracist.ā