Former U.S. President Donald Trump lashed out at NBA superstar LeBron James on Thursday for a message posted on Twitter, and later deleted, in which he pointed to a white police officer involved in the death of an African-American teenager.

James, one of the sports figures who has supported the 'Black Lives Matter' movement the most, posted a picture of Agent Nicholas Reardon with the message: "You are the next #Accounting account."

The Los Angeles Lakers star made the post a day after another white cop,

Derek Chauvin

, was convicted of the murder of African-American George Floyd, a case that sparked protests against racism and police violence inside and outside the United States.

In Reardon's case, the Columbus (Ohio) police released part of a camera recording the policeman was carrying when he shot

16-year-old Ma'Khia Bryant

.

The images show how the teenager apparently assaulted another young woman while holding a knife before the shots were fired.

According to the mayor of Columbus, the police officer acted to protect the other young woman.

LeBron James, born near Columbus, deleted his tweet and posted several messages explaining his motives.

"I'm very tired of seeing black people killed by the police

," James said.

"I withdrew the tweet because it is being used to create more hatred. This is not about a cop. It is about the whole system and they always use our words to create more racism. I am so desperate for more accountability."

James, who last season won the ring with the Lakers, the fourth of his career, also

acknowledged that anger was the wrong response to these situations

. "Anger does not do any of us any good, and that includes me. However, it does gather all the facts and educate. My anger is still here because of what happened to that girl," said the basketball player. , who grew up in Akron, Ohio, about a two-hour drive from Columbus.

James' messages raised some criticism in the political sphere, to which former President Trump joined on Thursday, who issued a statement dedicated to the issue.

"LeBron James should focus on basketball,"

Trump said.

"His racist tirades are divisive, nasty, insulting and degrading. He may be a great

basketball player

, but he is doing nothing to unite our country."

Trump and James have leveled strong criticism at each other in recent years.

For the 2020 elections, the Lakers player,

who campaigned for Hillary Clinton four years earlier

, promoted a platform aimed at facilitating voting in African-American communities.



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