“He’s definitely not someone I would give my energy to” – LeBron James isn’t bothered about Enes Kanter’s comments about him
LeBron James has finally fired back in Enes Kanter’s direction. Kanter has consistently been critical of LeBron in the last few months, whether it is about the LA Lakers superstar’s COVID-19 vaccination stance or whether it was about LeBron’s lack of support for Kanter’s condemnation of China’s human rights violations in Tibet or towards Chinese Uighurs.
LeBron, who made his return to the Lakers in Friday night’s game versus Boston after sitting out eight games because of an abdominal strain, said he would not let the Boston Celtics player take advantage of using his name. LeBron said:
“He’s definitely not someone I would give my energy to, you know, trying to use my name to create an opportunity for himself. Definitely won’t comment too much on that… He’s always kind of had a word or two to say in my direction.”
LeBron, who had 23 points on 10-of-16 shooting in his return game for the Lakers, said that Kanter had the opportunity to speak to him in the hallway “as a man” but he didn’t.
Enes Kanter has found fault with LeBron James repeatedly over the last few months
Enes Kanter began his takedown of LeBron James in early October when he commented upon the latter’s hesitancy in advocating players taking the COVID-19 vaccination. Kanter said that he found LeBron’s stance “ridiculous”. He explained in a television interview:
“When I heard it, I was very disappointed and it's ridiculous. Obviously, LeBron James, he's one of the faces of the league and he should be the first one to go out there and say, "Listen everyone, I got the vaccine and I'm encouraging everyone, my community, basketball fans, non-basketball fans, all sports fans to go out there and get this vaccine so we can save other lives.’ So, when I heard that, I couldn't believe it but I hope he can educate himself about vaccination and inspire and encourage other people around him.”
~Ridiculous~
@PamelaBrownCNN
@CNN https://t.co/9QniT4uj0i
Soon after this, when Kanter started his social media tirade against the Chinese authoritarian regime, the Turkish international invited LeBron James and Michael Jordan to come with him to China and visit the slave labor camps in which Nike manufactures its sneakers.
To the owner of @Nike, Phil Knight
How about I book plane tickets for us
and let's fly to China together.
We can try to visit these SLAVE labor
camps and you can see it with your
own eyes.
@KingJames
@Jumpman23
you guys are welcome to come too.
#EndUyghurForcedLabor https://t.co/241bg887JO
More recently, just a few days ago, Enes Kanter further targeted LeBron’s silence on China by posting a series of pictures on his social media accounts with the comments:
“Money over Morals for the ‘King’."
"Sad & disgusting how these athletes pretend they care about social justice."
"They really do ‘shut up & dribble’ when Big Boss says so."
"Did you educate yourself about the slave labor that made your shoes or is that not part of your research?”
Enes Kanter has history with LeBron James
Kanter’s beef with LeBron James goes back even before his recent comments. Back in the 2017-18 NBA season when Enes Kanter was playing for the New York Knicks and LeBron was still a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers, the two got into a scuffle during a November regular season meeting between the two teams.
Things getting chippy between LeBron and the Knicks 👀 https://t.co/zAhQt6QSvz
Kanter said after the game in a clear message directed towards LeBron:
"I don't care who you are. What do you call yourself? King, Queen, Princess. Whatever you are. We're going to fight. Nobody out there is going to punk us."