LeBron James posted a photo of himself with a lyric from 21 Savage’s “ASMR:" “We been getting that Jewish money, Everything is Kosher.”
Darren Rovell of The Action Network:
Surprised LeBron, who makes very few mistakes, put this out. Does quoting lyrics from a song absolve the person quoting from the responsibility behind the words? I’d argue no, especially with a following of 45 million. pic.twitter.com/efv9gkXres
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) December 23, 2018
LeBron apologized, explaining he intended to be complimentary but understood it wasn’t taken that way. And that will likely be the end of that.
Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN:
The league office has been in contact with LeBron James about his social media post referencing "Jewish money," accepted his explanation that he made a mistake and the NBA will take no action, league source tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) December 24, 2018
I wouldn’t want LeBron fined for this. He posted something offensive without realizing why, more thoughtfully considered his words then responded. That’s the appropriate response as far as I’m concerned (and similar to the one I advocated when Phil Jackson used the word “posse” to describe LeBron’s associates).
But the NBA has repeatedly policed the social-media postings of its players. So, it became a question how the league would handle this LeBron incident.
Of course, LeBron is the NBA’s biggest and most-marketable star. The league wants this story to die as quickly as possible. Not punishing LeBron – given his apology – will help that.
That selective enforcement is why the league shouldn’t have entered this space for punishment. Even when it gets it right, it’s unfair to the players previously fined. Think J.R. Smith ever could have claimed he just “made a mistake” with one his tweets that got him fined?
