'I never shut up about things that are wrong': LeBron James to Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Basketball legend LeBron James hit back at Zlatan Ibrahimovic for his remarks against athletes taking part in political causes. The Swedish international footballer in an interview with Discovery Plus said that athletes participating in socio-political causes are making a "mistake" and feels they should focus on their job. 

Responding back to Zlatan during a virtual media interaction after LA Lakers' 102-93 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night, James said: "I would never shut up about things that are wrong." 

Zlatan Ibrahimovic uppskattar basketspelaren Lebron James men tycker inte att han ska lägga sig i politiken: "Lebron är fenomenal på det han gör, men jag gillar inte när folk med status lägger sig i politik"

Lång intervju med Zlatan Ibrahimovic: https://t.co/oXm5gjmhKv pic.twitter.com/J3L82GWLD6 — discovery sport  (@dplus_sportSE) February 25, 2021

"I have 300+ kids at my school who need a voice and I'm their voice...I'm the wrong guy to go at, I do my homework." @KingJames weighs in on the recent comments made by soccer superstar @Ibra_official that people should "do what they're good at" and "stay out of politics". pic.twitter.com/Scfp6HhnP2 — Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) February 27, 2021

"I preach about my people and I preach about equality, social injustice, racism, systematic voter suppression, things that go on in our community," James added.

"I know what's going on still, because I have a group of 300-plus kids at my school that's going through the same thing, and they need a voice, and I'm their voice. I'll use my platform to continue to shed light on everything that's going on around this country and around the world. There's no way I would ever just stick to sports, because I understand how powerful this platform and my voice is."

James then went on to talk about the racism incident, which Ibrahimovic made in 2018 because of his mixed origin, referring to the footballer's Swedish-born Bosnian father and a Croatian mother.

"He's the guy who said in Sweden, he was talking about the same things, because his last name wasn't a (traditional Swedish) last name, he felt like there was some racism going on when he was out on the pitch," James said. "I speak from a very educated mind. I'm kind of the wrong guy to actually go at, because I do my homework."