LeBron James Admits He’s Not an Expert on Something

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BUCK: LeBron James is out there urging people to get vaccinated. Clay pointed this one out to me and I thought, “Oh, this is interesting. We should have a little chat about this one.” Here is, the most — right now the most — famous basketball player in the world on vaccines.

JAMES: You’re talking about individuals’ bodies, y’know, we’re not talking about something that’s, y’know, political or — or, uh, racism or police brutality and things of that nature. The… We’re talking about, like, people’s bodies and well-beings. (sic) So, y’know, I don’t feel like for me personally that I should get involved in — in — in what other people should do for their bodies and their livelihoods.

It’s… It would be talking about somebody if they should, y’know, take this job or not. Uh, listen, you have to do what did he say best for you and your family, if they should relocate. You have to do what’s best for your family. I did what my family I know some of my friends what they did for their families. But as far as speaking for everybody and their individualities (sic) and things they want to do, umm, I feel like that’s my… That’s not my job.

BUCK: I’m glad that he recognizes he’s not a vaccine expert, Clay, but I’m pretty sure he’s not a law enforcement expert either.

CLAY: That’s what’s so funny about this is I agree with him, and I agree it’s the same advice that we’ve been giving, which is you should listening your doctor; make the decisions that are best for your family. We give advice to our family members. But implicitly here what LeBron is saying is that it is important for him to speak out on politics and police issues and issues of race, as if he’s an expert on those things.

When anyone who has ever paid attention to the comments that LeBron has made, he’s making things I think — very frequently — worse. In fact, the most recent comments I’ve seen him make at all about police… Do you remember this, Buck, when the Columbus Ohio police officer saved the life of the girl that was about to be stabbed to death and shot the woman with the knife?

BUCK: Yes.

CLAY: LeBron James made the decision to post that police officer’s image on his social media account and demand that the police officer be held accountable, rather than doing what he should have done in labeling that police officer a hero for reacting in real time and saving a life.

BUCK: Right.

CLAY: So I don’t think LeBron is an expert on any of these issues. In fact, I think he often makes it worse.

BUCK: I just wish that whether it’s athletes or celebrities, the standard was, “If you’re ignorant on a subject, just be quiet. You don’t have to talk about it. We just appreciate the skill set that you have.” But no. That’s not how it goes.