Trump suggests LeBron James could get surgery to compete in women’s sports
The billionaire NBA star and the former U.S. president often traded jabs during Trump’s time in office.
Donald Trump took aim at LeBron James during a rambling two-hour speech at a rally in Phoenix, Arizona over the weekend.
Speaking to a crowd of loyalists at the “Rally to Protect Our Elections” on Saturday night, Trump speculated that the Los Angeles Lakers star might get sex reassignment surgery to compete in women’s sports. He also joked that James would only recruit transgender athletes for his all-female sports team, Business Insider reports.
“If I were a coach, I wouldn’t be talking to too many women as we know women,” said Trump. “I’d be getting some of these people that … they’re ‘women.'”
He then speculated what James would be like after becoming a transgender sports star.
“Somebody said that if LeBron James ever decided to get the operation, how would he be on the court? How would he be?” said Trump before he continued to mock the NBA star.
“LeBron James, you can have him,” Trump added. “Did you see the basketball ratings that were terrible? They went up after his team was defeated.”
It’s worth noting that James has never publicly proclaimed to be transgender or the desire to undergo sexual reassignment surgery.
The billionaire NBA star and the former U.S. president often traded jabs during Trump’s time in office.
Trump called him “racist” in April after James tweeted a fiery response to the police killing of Ohio teenager Ma’Khia Bryant.
As previously reported by theGRIO, Trump slammed James over his controversial “You’re Next” post about the white Columbus, Ohio, police officer who fatally shot Bryant, a Black girl.
Trump called his tweet “racist” and “divisive” and urged the NBA icon to stick to sports.
“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 reported by The Hill.
“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!” he continued.
Bryant, 16, was killed shortly before former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty of murdering George Floyd. As theGRIO previously reported, James deleted the tweet and posted two more, explaining why he did so.
“ANGER does [none] any of us any good and that includes myself!” he contended. “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!”
In a second post, James wrote, “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.”
He later shared via Twitter that he may not have chosen the best words in response to the incident.
“I fueled the wrong conversation about Ma’Khia Bryant and I owe it to her and this movement to change it,” James tweeted. In his post, he shared an article from Vox by Fabiola Cineas titled ‘Why they’re not saying Ma’Khia Bryant’s name‘ which unpacks how racism and sexism work against Black girls and women when dealing with police violence.
He continued to thank the writer “for educating us about Ma’Khia and her story and why this needs to be about her.”
In a subsequent tweet, James said “Protect our Young Black Women & Men!”
*This story contains additional reporting from theGRIO’s DeMicia Inman.
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