The United States Olympic Committee has selected NBA star, US pundit and China advocate LeBron James as a flag bearer for the Paris Olympics, making him the first U.S. men’s basketball player to receive the honor.
The players nominate their flag bearers and follow them. CBS SportsStephen Curry recommended James as this year’s flag bearer.
“It is an incredible honor to represent the United States on this global stage at a moment when the world is coming together,” James said in a statement. “As a kid from Akron, this responsibility means everything not only to me, but to my family, the kids back home, my teammates, my fellow Olympians and so many people across the country with lofty aspirations. Sports have the power to bring us all together and I am proud to be a part of this important moment.”
This will be LeBron James’ fourth time playing for the U.S. men’s basketball team and the first time since 2004. He is one of three players to play for the U.S. Olympic basketball team four times, the other two being Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Durant. He won a bronze medal in 2004 and gold medals in 2008 and 2012. If the U.S. Men’s Olympic Basketball Team wins a gold medal this year, it will be the team’s fifth consecutive gold medal.
But James is a huge supporter of Communist China, even attacking critics who say it enslaves and oppresses its ethnic Uighur minority, who are herded into forced labor camps to make sportswear and other products that China sells around the world.
A pro-Hong Kong activist holds up a painting depicting LeBron James as Chinese Communist Revolutionary Chairman Mao Zedong before the Los Angeles Lakers’ season opener against the Los Angeles Clippers outside the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California on October 22, 2019. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
For example, in 2021, James slammed Boston Celtics player Enes Kanter-Freedom for wearing shoes with a critical message about China.
James also attacked former Houston Rockets executive Daryl Morey in 2019 for criticizing China for its crackdown on freedoms for people in Hong Kong. Morey posted a simple message in support of Hong Kong democracy activists who are being arrested and tortured by Chinese authorities, writing, “Fight for freedom and stand with Hong Kong.” But James attacked Morey for being “ignorant” about China and even said freedom of speech is a bad thing because it allows Morey to criticize China.
Years after James publicly scolded Morey for criticizing China for its coercive practices of jailing political dissidents and stifling freedom of expression, it emerged that James had not only reprimanded Morey. In fact, James was reportedly infuriated by Morey’s criticism of China and “raged” about Morey behind closed doors to NBA executives.
It’s no wonder James cares so much about defending China: after all, he has deep ties to China and makes millions of dollars each year doing business in the communist country.
Meanwhile, James, despite making billions of dollars as an athlete, is not above attacking America and pushing racist policies centered around how awful the country is. In the era of the Black Lives Matter movement, his criticism of America was so sharp that James briefly got into an argument with Fox News host Laura Ingraham. Laura was fed up with James’s nagging and told him to “shut up and talk” instead of talking politics. Ingraham even promised to give James some time on her show to debate his political views, but James didn’t have the guts to accept her offer.
This man has been selected to fly the US flag at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
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