LeBron James reacts to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s criticism
LeBron James is offering his reaction to the shots that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar recently took at him.
The Los Angeles Lakers star James sparked debate last week by posting a meme comparing COVID-19 to the flu and the common cold. Abdul-Jabbar ripped James for doing so, explaining why he thought it was a harmful post.
After the Lakers defeated the Houston Rockets on Wednesday, James was asked if he had any response to Abdul-Jabbar.
“No I don’t have a response to Kareem at all,” he said, per Harrison Faigen of Silver Screen & Roll. “And if you saw the post and you read the tag, you know I’m literally, honestly asking, ‘help me out.’ Help me kind of figure it all out, like we’re all trying to figure this pandemic out. We’re all trying to figure out COVID and the new strain. And the flu, I think people forgot about the flu.
“People like literally forgot about the flu, like that’s still going around,” James went on. “It’s flu season, so people have forgot about the flu. People have forgot about common colds. That happens, especially with a lot of our kids that’s in school. My daughter is in first grade, so a lot of these kids are gettting common colds and getting the flu. But no, I don’t have any response to Kareem. No. At all.”
Like most NBA teams this season, the Lakers have faced a number of recent absences due to health and safety protocols. James was also angered with the situation when he himself landed in protocols earlier this month.
James is maintaining that he was simply trying to gather more information when he sent the post to his 106 million followers on Instagram, especially with much still unknown about the seemingly milder Omicron variant. But that is unlikely to be a satisfactory explanation for Abdul-Jabbar, who also recently criticized James for a different reason.
Nov 28, 2021; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (6) reacts against the Detroit Pistons in the first half at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports