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LA Lakers Superstar LeBron James Slams Zlatan Ibrahimovic Over His 'Stay Out Of Politics' Comment

LA Lakers Superstar LeBron James Slams Zlatan Ibrahimovic Over His 'Stay Out Of Politics' Comment

LA Lakers superstar ​LeBron James insisted that he will "never shut up about things that are wrong" as he called out Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz

LeBron James has fired back at AC Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic after he told him to 'stay out of politics' and to 'stick to sports.'

Ibrahimovic recently branded the 36-year-old Los Angeles Lakers superstar as "phenomenal at what he's doing," but he also criticised him for his political activism.

"[LeBron] is phenomenal at what he's doing, but I don't like it when people have some kind of status, they go and do politics at the same time," the 39-year-old Swedish star told Discovery+.

"Do what you're good at. Do the category you do. I play football because I'm the best at playing football.

"I don't do politics. If I would be a political politician, I would do politics. That is the first mistake people do when they become famous and they become in a certain status.

"Stay out of it. Just do what you do best because it doesn't look good."

James has slammed Ibrahimovic and accused him of double standards, adding that he is the wrong person to target as he does his "homework' on who has called him out.

Speaking at a press conference, the four-time NBA championship winner said: "I will never shut up about things that are wrong.

"I preach about my people and I preach about equality. Social injustice, racism, systematic voter suppression, things that go on in our community.

"I was part of my community, I've seen the things that are going on.

"I have a group of 300-plus kids in my school that are going through the same thing and they need a voice. I am their voice and I use my platform to shed light on things that are going on, not only in my community but around this country and around the world.

"There is no way I will ever just stick to sports because I know with this platform, how powerful my voice is.

"You can ask Renee Montgomery [former WNBA player and now part-owner of Atlanta Dream] if I had just shut up and dribbled. Seeing that beautiful black woman today become a part of an ownership group now with the Atlanta Dream.

"It's funny that he's [Ibrahimovic] said that because I believe back in 2018 he's the same guy who said that when he was back in Sweden, he was talking about the same things. Because his last name wasn't a certain last name, he felt like there was some racism going on while he was out on the pitch... right?

"He did say that, right? Yeah. I thought he said that. I speak from a very educated mind. I'm the wrong guy to go at because I do my homework."

James has been a vocal supporter of the 'Black Lives Matter' movement and helped to spearhead other initiatives in the battle against inequality.

The former Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers star opened the I Promise School in 2018 to help support at-risk children.

PA

PA

James' More Than A Vote also led to over 42,000 volunteers working at polling stations last November as they aimed to support black voters and young voters in getting to the polls.

"I still know what I do on the floor and obviously, I give everything to the game," he told the Associated Press.

"But I can make a greater impact off the floor right now, more than I can on the floor. And I want to continue to inspire people with the way I play the game of basketball.

"But there's so many more things that I can do off the floor to help cultivate people, inspire people, bring people together, empower them."

American TV host Laura Ingraham has also been critical of James in the past, saying he should "shut up and dribble."

Featured Image Credit: Twitter/PA

Topics: Football, Serie A, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, NBA, AC Milan, Los Angeles Lakers, lebron james, Italy