LeBron James responded to Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s criticisms of his political activism in a post-game interview. The Lakers star took a second after his team’s win on Friday night to tell Zlatan to stay in his own lane.
“I would never shut up about things that’s wrong,” James said about the soccer player’s comments.
James went on to say that he needs to use his platform for people who are going through what he suffered through. He said he knows his voice carries in a way that theirs does not.
“I preach about my people and I preach about equality, social injustice, racism, systematic voter suppression, things that go on in our community,” James said. “Because I was a part of my community at one point and seeing the things that was going on and I know what’s going on still because I have a group of 300-plus kids at my school that’s going through the same thing and they need a voice. And I’m their voice. I’m their voice and I use my platform to continue to shed light on everything that may be going on not only in my community but around this country and around the world.”
“There’s no way I will ever just stick to sports because I understand how this platform … how powerful my voice is,” he added.
James went on to accuse Zlatan of hypocrisy. He noted that the soccer star had used his own fame to speak out on issues of racism in Sweden.
“I’m kind of the wrong guy to actually go at because I do my homework,” he said.
