Sport and politics: LeBron James responds to Zlatan Ibrahimovic's tackle
Swedish footballer Zlatan Ibrahimovic and American basketball player LeBron James.
© AP Photo / Antonio Calanni and AP Photo / Mark J. Terrill / RFI montage
Text by: Nicolas Bamba Follow
7 min
Controversy between the two football and basketball stars.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has scratched LeBron James over his involvement outside of sport, particularly politically.
According to the Swede, athletes should not take a stand and confine themselves to their role.
The American basketball player is not of this opinion at all.
And he makes it known.
Publicity
Read more
Should the most renowned athletes remain only athletes and not engage in social and political terms?
Or, can they use their notoriety to take a stand on extrasport issues that they consider important?
This old debate, very fashionable in recent months in the United States against the backdrop of the 2020 presidential election, came back to light this week.
And it is one of the most famous footballers in Europe who ignited the spark, although the exchanges by interposed media are still cordial between him and the icon of American sport that he criticized.
"Stay in your domain"
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
, known not to have his tongue in his pocket, opened the subject Thursday, February 25.
The AC Milan forward spoke in an interview with UEFA for
Discovery +
channel
in Sweden.
The 39-year-old striker believes famous sportsmen are making “
a mistake
” by
getting
involved politically.
“
Refrain.
Do things where you are good at,
”he said.
And the Milanese cited the example of the American basketball star.
“
I love LeBron James, he's phenomenal at what he does,
” he first said, before continuing: “
But I don't like when people with a certain status get involved in Politics.
Stay in your domain.
"
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://trahimovic.com .co / oXm5gjmhKv pic.twitter.com/J3L82GWLD6
- discovery + sport 🇸🇪 (@dplus_sportSE) February 25, 2021
The words of the Swedish giant have crossed the Atlantic to reach the ears of "King James".
And after the Los Angeles Lakers victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday, February 26, the quadruple NBA champion winger responded to Zlatan Ibrahimovic at a press conference.
"I will never be silent on things that are wrong"
Very committed to the fight against racism and the education of young people, the basketball player was one of the leaders of the movement printed in the NBA last summer for more equality and to denounce police violence in the United States.
Strongly opposed to Donald Trump
, he also supported Joe Biden during the last presidential election.
So, invited to comment on Ibrahimovic's criticisms, James counterattacked: “
I'm not really the kind of guy to come and attack, because I do the right thing.
"
No, the Akron, Ohio native has no plans to just play basketball: “
I'll never be silent about things that are wrong.
I am committed in favor of my people, for equality, for equality also in terms of access to the vote, I am committed against social injustice and racism.
There is no question that I am content to play sports.
I know how powerful my voice is.
"
Los Angeles Lakers leaders LeBron James and Anthony Davis kneel down in support of the Black Lives Matter movement alongside Clippers' teammates and rivals on July 30, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.
Mike Ehrmann GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP / Archives
► To read also: Police fire on Jacob Blake: the NBA stopped after the boycott of the players
LBJ surprised by the speech of Ibra, himself a victim of racism in Sweden
Support of the Black Lives Matter movement,
LeBron James takes his word
, even if it divides: “
For a long time, we heard that as athletes, we should be grateful to be able to throw a ball, dribble with a ball, hitting with a baseball bat.
We were told that we were neither able nor authorized to talk about anything else.
This is no longer the case today.
And that won't be the case for a long time.
"
And the basketball player added about Zlatan Ibrahimovic: "
It's funny that he said that, because I remember that in 2018, it was the same guy who said that when he was in Sweden, he spoke of these same subjects.
Because his last name was not common, and he sometimes sensed racism when he was in the field.
"
🗨️ @Ibra_official: "What are the Swedish media doing? They defend me or they attack me? (...) If my name was Andersson or Svensson, they would defend me even if I rob a bank" #MaPartDOmbre pic.twitter.com / Yw57jPeoXx
- Canal Football Club (@CanalFootClub) January 7, 2018
In the documentary "Ma part d'ombre" broadcast in January 2018 on the French channel
Canal +
, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, born in 1981 in Malmö to a Bosnian father and a Croatian mother, explained the "
latent
"
racism of
which he is victim in Sweden.
“
If another Swedish player made the same mistakes I did, they (the media) would defend him.
When it's me, they don't defend me.
(...) It's a story of racism.
I'm not saying it's assertive racism, but latent racism.
(...) Because my name is not Andersson or Svensson.
"
Disagreeing on the commitment of the most famous athletes, LeBron James and Zlatan Ibrahimovic have at least one thing in common: their freedom of tone.
The debate they have reopened is proof of this.
Newsletter
Receive all the international news directly in your mailbox
I subscribe
Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application
google-play-badge_FR
Sports
Soccer
Basketball
United States
Sweden
Society
On the same subject
NBA basketball: the Lakers champions after an extraordinary season
The NBA, a league at the heart of the struggles and fractures of the United States