- An Ohio bar will refuse to play NBA games on its TVs until LeBron James is expelled from the league.
- Last week James stirred controversy with a tweet targeting the cop who killed Ma'Khia Bryant.
- James offered a sarcastic Twitter response to the story that reported the bar's announcement.
- Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
LeBron James had a sarcastic Twitter response for a bar owner who is calling for his expulsion from the NBA.
Jay Linnenan, the owner of Linne's Pub in Cincinnati, Ohio, announced on Facebook that his bar would not show NBA games on its TVs until James was "expelled" from the NBA.
"If anyone wants to watch an NBA game, don't come to Linnie's Pub," Linnenan wrote. "We will not air them until Lebron James has been expelled from the NBA."
James retweeted the MSN story that reported Linnenan's announcement with a short, sarcasm-laced response.
"Aww Damn! I was headed there to watch our game tonight and have a drink! Welp," James wrote.
-MSN (@MSN) April 24, 2021
James garnered backlash from law enforcement supporters last week when he sent a tweet targeting police officer Nicholas Reardon, who shot and killed Ma'Khia Bryant - a 16-year-old Black girl in Ohio.
Bodycam footage showed Reardon shooting at Bryant four times as she lunged toward another girl while holding what appeared to be a knife.
"ANGER 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!" James wrote on Twitter.
"I'm so damn tired of seeing Black people killed by police. I took the tweet down because its being used to create more hate -This isn't about one officer it's about the entire system and they always use our words to create more racism. I am so desperate for more ACCOUNTABILITY."
James' tweet stirred controversy among significant figures associated with right-wing politics and pro-law-enforcement agendas, including Donald Trump.
"LeBron James should focus on basketball rather than presiding over the destruction of the NBA, which has just recorded the lowest television RATINGS, by far, in the long and distinguished history of the League," Trump said in a statement Thursday evening. "His RACIST rants are divisive, nasty, insulting, and demeaning. He may be a great basketball player, but he is doing nothing to bring our Country together!"
TV ratings for the 2020 NBA playoffs, which prominently featured "Black Live Matter" statements on the court and player gear, were down 37% compared to 2019. A recent poll conducted by Yahoo News/YouGov, found 34.5% of respondents saying they have watched less sports due to social justice campaigns.
However NBA commissioner Adam Silver disputed the notion that ratings declined due to social justice messaging, according to GQ. Nielson Media Resarch has also displaced claims that ratings declined for political reasons.
Other individuals who have spoken out against James include Republican senators Ted Cruz, Tom Cotton, representative Mike Loychik, and Fox Sports host Jason Whitlock.