A Cincinnati bar owner said Wednesday he would not “air” National Basketball Association (NBA) games until LeBron James is “expelled” from the league.
“If anyone wants to watch an NBA game, don’t come to Linnie’s Pub,” owner Jay Linneman said.
“We will not air them until LeBron James has been expelled from the NBA. They just need to play the game, and that’s it,” Linnerman said. “Their opinion doesn’t really matter. They’re using their position to push their opinions, and that’s just not right.”
Upon hearing of the bar owner’s decision, James made light of the bar. “Aww Damn! I was headed there to watch our game tonight and have a drink! Welp,” he tweeted.
The bar owner’s decision comes after James inserted himself into an altercation concerning the police shooting of Ma’Khia Bryant, “a black teenager seen on video charging at two people with a knife, came within minutes of the verdict in George Floyd’s killing — causing outrage by some over the continued use of lethal force by Columbus police,” Breitbart News reported.
Shortly after the tragedy, LeBron James tweeted a photo of a police officer present when Ma’Khia Bryant was shot, with the caption, “You’re Next.”
James deleted the photo minutes afterward due to backlash and issued another tweet to explain. “I’m so damn tired of seeing Black people killed by police. I took the tweet down because it’s 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,” he wrote.
The fallout has been dramatic, embroiling the sports network owned by woke Disney. ESPN “First Take” co-host Max Kellerman defended Los Angeles Lakers star by saying the incident was “obviously” not a call for violence. “He added that politicians who are accusing James of inciting violence are either ‘stupid or corrupt,'” Breitbart News reported.