LeBron James Says He Regrets Hitting Send On Ma’Khia Bryant Tweet

LeBron James is addressing his highly controversial Ma’Khia Bryant tweet and now, the Los Angeles Lakers star is admitting that he regrets it, saying it ended up fueling the “wrong conversation.”

Source: Michael Owens / Getty

LeBron James is one of the best basketball players to ever grace the court–but he refuses to be just that.  With four NBA championships underneath his belt, James shows no signs of stopping. Over the years fans have also seen the Ohio native work his magic off the court, championing a number of social justice issues–from the death of Trayvon Martin to more recently, voter suppression rights with the creation of his “More Than A Vote” initiative.

Last month, a tweet from James surrounding the murder of Ma’Khia Bryant caused controversy online amongst fans and conservatives. Following Derek Chauvin’s guilty verdict, the 36-year-old NBA champ took to Twitter to demand justice for Ma’Khia Bryant. James sent a tweet out to his followers urging for Nicholas Reardon, the officer who fatally shot the 15-year-old, to be brought to justice. “YOU’RE NEXT #ACCOUNTABILITY,” the tweet read.

Now, James is reflecting and admits he regrets it. The NY Post reports an article from Vox may have helped him understand why his tweet was an issue.

LeBron James has expressed regret for his inflammatory tweet about the Ohio cop who fatally shot 16-year-old Ma’Khia Bryant – saying he “fueled the wrong conversation” about the teen. The Los Angeles Lakers superstar said on Twitter this week that he owes “it to her and this movement to change” the conversation.

James also thanked Vox writer Fabiola Cineas “for educating us about Ma’Khia and her story and why this needs to be about her.” He added a link to Cineas’ piece — titled “Why they’re not saying Ma’Khia Bryant’s name” — in which she wrote that “viewers of various races and political affiliations” decided that Bryant was the knife-wielding “aggressor.”

LeBron meant well, but at least he’s real enough to take the feedback from people he respects and admit to his wrongdoings. Sometimes we all fire off a quick hot take on the timeline and it backfires, LeBron is no different.

Some fans of the NBA legend flocked to his comments to praise him for taking accountability and sharing the informative Vox article. One user wrote:

“This article you shared is tremendous. I had a heated discussion with someone close who could not seem to understand this was a child seemingly surrounded by adults who were feeling threatened. She was failed by the systems in this country.”

Others reprimanded the star for being bias. @KingRonald on Twitter replied:

“Some people have a problem taking accountability when they’re wrong about something because everyone always makes them think they’re right. Well Bron, you were wrong and still wrong. This article is nothing but deflections that make you feel better about being wrong.”

What do YOU think? Was LeBron right about changing his stance?