LAPD union wants NBA to investigate Lebron James over ‘you’re next’ tweet
Thomas McDonald
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A Los Angeles Police Department union has sent a letter to the NBA requesting a formal investigation into LeBron James over his threatening tweet about the police officer involved in the shooting death of Ma’Khia Bryant.
The letter, sent by Detective Jamie McBride on behalf of the Los Angeles Police Protective League Board, urges NBA Commissioner Adam Silver to investigate whether James violated any league policies by posting the now-deleted threat on Twitter.
16-year-old Ma’Khia Bryant was shot and killed by officer Nicholas Reardon after responding to a 911 call involving a girl “trying to stab” other girls. Bodycam footage from the incident shows the officer shot Bryant four times as she was swinging a knife at another girl during an altercation.
Bryant’s death occurred the same day a jury found former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin guilty in the murder of George Floyd. James tweeted out “ACCOUNTABILITY” after Chauvin’s verdict was announced.
James’ next tweet read, “YOU’RE NEXT #Accountability,” along with an hourglass emoji and a picture of Officer Reardon.
Within a few hours, James deleted the tweet, later explaining that it was being used to spread more hate.
During an interview on Fox News, Detective McBride claimed the Los Angeles Lakers star was a “hypocrite” and accused him of “inciting violence…towards police officers.”
“LeBron James sent that tweet out to over 50 million followers to incite violence is basically what that tweet did,” McBride said.
“LeBron James has talked time and time again about police officers and how bad — they’re all killers,” he added. “However, they’re also doing protection at his house. Off-duty officers provide security for him and his family. So, you have killers at his house providing security for him.”
“No officer wants to take a life, but I’ll tell you one thing: That officer saved a life, and he’s a hero,” he later added about the girl Bryant was attempting to stab before Reardon shot her.
The National Fraternal Order of Police has also publicly criticized James for his threatening tweet.
Since James’ tweet made headlines, officers across the country have taken to their personal social media accounts to ridicule and mock him, including a viral video posted by Idaho police officer Nate Silvester who works for the Marshal’s Office in Bellevue, Idaho.
In his TikTok, which has garnered millions of views in less than a week, Silvester pretends to have a phone conversation with the NBA star while pretending to witness a Black person trying to stab another Black person, in reference to the incident involving Bryant.
“So you don’t care if a Black person kills another Black person, But you do care if a white cop kills a Black person, even if he’s doing it to save the life of another Black person?” Silvester said. “I mean it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, but then again you are really good at basketball so I guess I’ll take your word for it.”