LeBron James has been depicted as wearing a Ku Klux Klan hooded robe in a Photoshopped image accompanying Jason Whitlock's latest column for conservative website The Blaze.
Former Fox Sports presenter Whitlock, who has criticized James on a number of occasions over the years, has penned an article taking aim at the NBA star over the fatal attack on a teenager near the sportsman's I Promise School in Ohio.
Ethan Liming, 17, was beaten to death on June 2 in Akron, following his friends' altercation with a group of men who were playing basketball.
According the Akron Police Department, Liming's friends discharged a SPLATRBALL Water Bead Blaster gel gun in the direction of the men ahead of the violent confrontation.
Court TV reports that three suspects were last week arrested on murder and felonious assault charges following the incident, of which James tweeted on June 3: "Our condolences goes out to the family who lost a loved one!! [May] the heavens above watch over you during this tragedy! Pray for our community!"
Whitlock reacted to James' statement in a column titled "Bigoted LeBron James promises DNC—Dead Negroes Confederacy—to remain silent on Emmett Till 2.0 murder," in which he recalled the Los Angeles Lakers player's comments about the Till family when racist graffiti was sprayed on a gate at his home in 2017.
Per Slate, James said at the time that the incident "just goes to show that racism will always be a part of the world, a part of America. And hate in America, especially for African Americans, is living every day.
"And even though that it's concealed most of the time, even though people hide their faces and will say things about you, and when they see you they smile in your face. It's alive every single day.
"I think back to Emmett Till's mom, actually. It's kind of one of the first things I thought of. The reason that she had an open casket is because she wanted to show the world what her son went through as far as a hate crime and being Black in America.
"No matter how much money you have, no matter how famous you are, no matter how many people admire you, being black in America is tough. We got a long way to go for us as a society, and for us as African Americans, until we feel equal in America."
Emmett Till was 14 years old when he was brutally murdered by two white men in 1955 after allegedly whistling at a white woman. When his body was recovered three days later, it was so mutilated that he was only identified by an initialed ring, per History.com.
My column on LeBron James, Ethan Liming, and Emmett Till. https://t.co/kPvoFjoHvR
— Jason Whitlock (@WhitlockJason) June 16, 2022
In his column, Whitlock accused James of "lying" about the racist graffiti, saying that he believed the sportsman's account to be untrue back in 2017, "and I believe it even more today, analyzing his reaction to the murder of Ethan Liming in the parking lot of James' celebrated, Akron, Ohio, I Promise School.
There is no evidence James lied about the graffiti.
"Liming and his family have far more in common with Emmett and Mamie Till than LeBron James ever will."
Whitlock then went on to recount the series of events surrounding Liming's death, before suggesting that James would have made more to say about the killing of the teen had he been Black instead of white.
After writing about the various public statements James has made about the deaths of a number of Black Americans at the hands of white people over the years, Whitlock accused James of having "nothing substantive to say when black people take lives."
When Whitlock shared a link to the article on Twitter on Thursday, a number of readers pointed to the Photoshopped image of James sporting the hooded white robes worn by members of the KKK, the white supremacist terrorist and hate group.
"The image is like WTF! definitely click bait @WhitlockJason is constantly looking for a new low," wrote one Twitter user.
"Even for you lately this is some amazing clickbait," another tweeted. "Hope that check from Glenn [Beck] is worth it."
"The imaging is off putting," commented another. "I'm sure the article has some merit, but this gives pause. Use better judgment.
Newsweek has contacted a representative of James for comment.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Ryan Smith is a Newsweek Senior Pop Culture and Entertainment Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on ... Read more
