"Carrying this bum a** league on his shoulders": Jamie Foxx comes to LeBron James’ defense with no-holds-barred attack amid national media controversy
LeBron James's take to be the "face of the league" has recently ignited a fiery debate among basketball fans. On Thursday, the Los Angeles Lakers superstar questioned why anyone would want the pressures associated with the title and condemned the media for its negative portrayal of star players.
James faced criticism from prominent sports media figures after his remarks. However, he has garnered support from many fans, including Hollywood actor Jamie Foxx, who recently expressed his backing for the NBA star.
On Saturday, Foxx passionately defended "King James" on Instagram.
"40,000 points over 20 years of play carrying this bum a** league on his shoulders, ungrateful," said Foxx.
"If he came up with a cure for cancer, they would say yeah but what about diabetes?" Added Foxx in another comment.
Foxx's comments suggest he agrees that the press has mistreated James - a four-time league champion and 20-season veteran surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the NBA's all-time leading scorer and the only player in history to pass the 40,000-point mark.
King James's statement came after Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards seemed to shy away from the "face of the league" designation at a press conference during the All-Star Weekend and passed the hot potato to Victor Wembanyama.
"Why do you want to be the face of the league when all the people that cover our game and talk about our game on a day-to-day basis s*** on everybody? It's just weird. It’s weird energy," said James.
LeBron James has turned 40 and it will be fascinating to see how many additional seasons he will play. It feels inevitable that the NBA will soon unofficially designate a new "face of the league," with players such as Anthony Edwards, Luka Doncic, Victor Wembanyama, and Jayson Tatum being discussed as strong contenders.
Stephen A. Smith calls out LeBron James following his "face of the league" stance
Stephen A. Smith has never been shy about voicing his views. LeBron James's strong words regarding the media's portrayal of NBA players seemed to irk the well-known sports television personality.
During an episode of ESPN's "First Take" on Friday, Smith called out the four-time MVP for criticizing the media.
"I don't appreciate what he said," said Smith. "We could sit up there and say something smells like perfume, they’ll accuse us of saying it’s passing gas. No matter what we say about these players, there’s always something for them to complain about."
Smith acknowledged James's contributions to the game and praised his skills, calling him the second-greatest player in NBA history.