Donald Trump lashes out at LeBron James on Twitter for tweet about police

This Thursday, the former president of USA, Donald Trump, lashed out at the NBA superstar LeBron James for a message posted on Twitter. The tweet pointed to a white police officer involved in the death of an African-American teenager, and was subsequently removed.

James, one of the sports figures who has most supported the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement, posted an image of Agent Nicholas Reardon with the message: “You are the next #Rendicióndecuentas”.

The star of Los angeles lakers made the post a day after another white cop, Derek Chauvin, was convicted of the murder of African-American George Floyd, a case that sparked protests against racism and police violence inside and outside the United States.

In the case of Reardon, the police of Columbus (Ohio) published part of a recording of the camera that the policeman carried when he shot the young Ma’Khia Bryant, 16 years old.

The images show how the teenager apparently assaulted another young woman while holding a knife before the shots were fired. According to the mayor of Columbus, the police officer acted to protect the other young woman.

LeBron James, born near Columbus, deleted his tweet and posted several messages explaining his motives.

“I’m very tired of seeing black people killed by the policeJames said. “I withdrew the tweet because it is being used to create more hatred. This is not about a cop. It’s mostly the system and they always use our words to create more racism. I’m so desperate for more accountability”.

James, who last season won the ring with the Lakers, the fourth of his career, also acknowledged that anger was the wrong response to these situations.

“Anger doesn’t do any of us any good, and that includes me. However, it does gather all the facts and educate. My anger is still here for what happened to that girl”Said the basketball player, who grew up in Akron, Ohio, about a two-hour drive from Columbus.

James’ messages raised some criticism in the political sphere, to which former President Trump joined on Thursday, who issued a statement dedicated to the issue.

“LeBron James should focus on basketball“Said Trump. “His racist tirades are divisive, nasty, insulting, and degrading. He may be a great basketball player, but he’s doing nothing to unite our country”.

Trump and James have leveled strong criticism at each other in recent years. For the 2020 elections, the Lakers player, who campaigned for Hillary Clinton four years earlier, promoted a platform aimed at facilitating voting in African-American communities.