OPINION | This article contains commentary that reflects the author's opinion.
NBA star and outspoken left-wing activist LeBron James is under fire for mocking teenager Kyle Rittenhouse of Wisconsin while falling silent on the disappearance and concerns of Chinese tennis star Peng Shaui.
James regularly uses his platform to push left-wing political and social activism.
Weighing in on the Kyle Rittenhouse trial, James mocked the defendant as he broke down in tears while taking the stand in his own defense.
James shared the video of the moment that Kyle Rittenhouse and claimed he was fake crying. He said the teenager must have “ate some lemon heads” before taking the stand.
“What tears????? I didn’t see one,” James said. “Man knock it off! That boy ate some lemon heads before walking into court,” James wrote to Twitter.
Kyle Rittenhouse was recounting the moments that he feared for his life.
Watch the clip:
What tears????? I didn’t see one. Man knock it off! That boy ate some lemon heads before walking into court. 🤣🤣🤣 https://t.co/LKwYssIUmD
— LeBron James (@KingJames) November 11, 2021
Following the not-guilty verdict, James took to social media again to repost a quote from NASCAR’s Bubba Wallace.
“Ha, let the boy be black and it would’ve been life… hell he would’ve had his life taken before the bullshit trial.. sad,” Wallace wrote to Instagram.
LeBron James shared the response and added shouting emojis to emphasize the message.
Rittenhouse was acquitted of all five charges he faced, including first-degree homicide. His attorneys argued he was acting in self-defense in August 2020 during three nights of violent “Black Lives Matter” riots in Kenosha, Wisconsin that destroyed businesses and private property.
Although LeBron James and the NIKE company are regularly outspoken about left-wing “social justice initiatives” in America, they are often silent about their own ties to China where there are ongoing human rights violations.
After she publicly accused a former Chinese government senior official, Zhang Gaoli, of sexual assault, Peng Shaui went missing on Nov. 2.
She claimed that she was forced to have sex with Gaoli despite her refusals.
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The NBA, LeBron James and Nike have also come under fire in recent years for their ties to China. Most recently, Boston Celtics center Enes Kanter called out both Nike and James in social media posts saying China operates “SLAVE labor camps” and also wore a pair of shoes showing James bowing down to Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Prominent feminist organizations such as the National Organization for Women and the “me too. Movement” have also not addressed her disappearance or responded to requests for comment on the matter.
Her accusation on social media was removed within minutes and her disappearance sparked international outrage and concern aimed at the Chinese government. She resurfaced on Friday in photos circulated by an employee of Chinese state television and also had a video call with Olympic officials over the weekend, who claimed that she is safe.
Peng “thanked the IOC for its concern about her well-being,” the International Olympic Committee said in a statement.
But others have pointed out that photos and videos are not proof she is safe and free.
“Messages like these are meant as a demonstration of power: ‘We are telling you that she is fine, and who are you to say otherwise?’” Mareike Ohlberg, a fellow at the German Marshall Fund, wrote on Twitter. “It’s not meant to convince people but to intimidate and demonstrate the power of the state.”
“These photos and videos can only prove that Peng Shuai is alive, but nothing else. They cannot prove that Peng Shuai is free,” Teng Biao, a Chinese civil rights lawyer, told the New York Times.
The CEO of the Women’s Tennis Association also sounded the alarm on Peng’s safety. Steve Simon addressed the video of her published by China state-run media on Saturday, saying that while it’s reassuring to see her, the video was “insufficient” proof of her safety.
