INDEPENDENCE, OHIO– At Cavaliers’ media day, LeBron James took center stage for over 40 minutes, hitting on a wide array of topics including the national anthem protests that intensified yesterday, and his criticisms of President Donald Trump.
James was asked about the protests that took place during the NFL on Sunday, as more than 200 players chose to take a knee during the national anthem. He was also asked if he thought the divide in the nation was growing larger.
“There was solidarity; there was no divide,” James said. “Even from that guy that continues to try to divide us.”
James’ comments come on the heels of a Sunday afternoon that saw an increasing number of NFL players protesting during the national anthem in response to comments from Trump, who said that players who choose to kneel during the anthem should be fired.
“It’s not about the disrespect of the flag and our military and everybody that has made this world free,” James said when expressing his opinion about the protests. “It is about equality and people having the option and the freedom to speak upon things they feel that’s not just.”
While James made his feelings clear about the anthem protests, he said that he likely would not take a knee as he considers his voice a more important asset.
“My voice for me personally is more important than my knee,” James said. “I talk to [the media] every single day, and what I say I think it should hit home for a lot of people and know where I stand. I don’t believe I have to get on my knee to even further what I’m talking about, but I don’t down anybody that’s doing it in the NFL.”
Over the weekend, Trump also rescinded an invitation for Golden State’s Steph Curry to come to the White House, after Curry said he had no interest in going. In response, James called the president a “bum” on Twitter. When he was asked if he regretted his comments, James responded with a simple “no.”
Monday was hardly the first time James critiqued Trump. Most recently, he called him the “so-called-president” following the protests in Charlottesville, Virginia that turned deadly.
At one point in his remarks during media day, James suggested that those who voted for Trump may have made a “mistake” and were “uneducated” about the issues in the 2016 election.
“The one thing that I can say and just think about is how can we personally, throughout everything that that guy is doing, no matter if you voted for him or not– you may have made a mistake and that’s OK,” James said.
“I don’t think a lot of people was educated,” he continued in a separate answer. “I think that’s one of the biggest problems that we have that when it becomes vote time, that people are just not educated on either the individual, or what’s actually going on in the state of the world right now. Not that particular state, but in the state of the world. I don’t think a lot of people are educated. And they make choices and say things that are uneducated.
“And am I saying that the people of Ohio wasn’t educated? Am I saying that some of the other states that voted for him was uneducated? They could have been or they could not have been. But that doesn’t mean that it was the right choice.”
Regardless of the choice that Ohioans made last November, however, James said he will continue to do what he has always done in the community.
“Even though this state voted for Trump, that doesn’t stop me inspiring the people of this state and inspiring the youth,” James said. “Because I would be even more at wrong if I started to pound the people of Ohio. That makes zero sense. My job is and my calling is much bigger than that guy.”
“I don’t even like saying his name. So while I have this platform, I will continue to inspire the state of Ohio not only by what I do on the floor but also by putting 1,300 kids into school and spending almost $45 million.”
LeBron on Sports, politics and POTUS pic.twitter.com/c8oyX56brz
— Ashley Bastock (@AshleyBastock42) September 25, 2017
LeBron talks about the positives of these conversations being had. pic.twitter.com/hllyYwsSU4
— Ashley Bastock (@AshleyBastock42) September 25, 2017
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