Culture & Society

‘You’re next’: LeBron James deleted his tweet threatening Ohio cop, but it didn’t go away

April 22, 2021 | | Print Article

Los Angeles Lakers basketball star LeBron James is facing harsh blowback for sending out a tweet on social media threatening an Ohio police officer who shot and killed 16-year-old Ma’Khia Bryant while she was attempting to stab another girl to death. He has since deleted the tweet.

Bodycam footage shows how the attack played out during the shooting of Bryant as she raised the knife to allegedly stab the other girl. The officer shouted a number of times for people to get down. He fired four shots, hitting Bryant. She was reportedly rushed to a hospital where she was later pronounced dead. When asked why he opened fire, Officer Nicholas Reardon responded, “She had a knife. She just went at her.”

Initial reports on Tuesday by the media incorrectly portrayed the officer as shooting an unarmed teenager. Many on the left ran with the accusation without getting the facts first.

James was one of many on the left who insinuated that the shooting was unjustified in a knee-jerk reaction following the conviction of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd.

(Video Credit: Fox News)

“YOU’RE NEXT #ACCOUNTABILITY,” James threatened on Twitter with an hourglass emoji. He posted a picture of Officer Nicholas Reardon who was involved in Bryant’s shooting and sent out the tweet to his 50 million followers.

James would later delete the tweet on Wednesday and offer an explanation of sorts but not an apology or retraction.

“ANGER does any of us any good and that includes myself!” he wrote. “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!”

He continued, “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.”

Others on the left such as Black Lives Matter co-founder Bree Newsome weighed in and also attacked the officer: “Teenagers have been having fights including fights involving knives for eons. We do not need police to address these situations by showing up to the scene & using a weapon against one of the teenagers. Y’all need help. I mean that sincerely.”

Former Obama aide Valerie Jarrett also claimed the officer had shot Bryant “in order to break up a knife fight.”

The New York Times and The Washington Post both completely failed to mention the knife that Bryant was wielding at the time of the shooting on Twitter.

Senators Tom Cotton and Ted Cruz both accused James of inciting violence against the police officer.

The largest police union in the country condemned James’ message as “disgraceful and extremely reckless.”

The National Fraternal Order of Police tweeted that he “should educate himself and, frankly, has a responsibility to do so, on the facts before weighing in.”

“The officer saved a young girl’s life. No amount of gaslighting will change that fact,” the union stated.

Former MLB star Lenny Dykstra called on the NBA to take action against James: “Hey, @nba, have you disciplined #LeBronJames for making a real and ongoing threat to the life of the brave officer in Columbus who prevented a knife attack from being even worse?”

Many more accused the NBA star of targeting the officer:

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