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After his comments on Brittney Griner drew some criticism, LeBron James went back to social media to explain what he was really trying to say.
Athletes around the sports world have been working to keep attention on Brittney Griner’s plight and keep the pressure on the government to secure her return to the US. Griner has been held by Russian authorities for more than four months on drug charges after allegedly being found with four vape cartridges containing cannabis in her luggage at a Moscow airport.
LeBron was involved in an on-camera discussion recently and drew some heat for his wording. A trailer for a new episode of his HBO Max show The Shop included LeBron saying, “Now, how can she feel like America has her back? I would be feeling like, ‘Do I even wanna go back to America?’”
What else did LeBron James say about Brittney Griner?
His comments drew enough backlash that, LeBron took to Twitter to try and clarify his message, saying:
“My comments on “The Shop” regarding Brittney Griner wasn’t knocking our beautiful country. I was simply saying how she’s probably feeling emotionally along with so many other emotions, thoughts, etc inside that cage she’s been in for over 100+ days! Long story short #BringHerHome”
The episode in question is supposed to air on Friday, July 15 and it’s likely that there is some additional context in the full conversation that didn’t make it into the short trailer. But maybe LeBron just didn’t feel comfortable waiting a few more days for that context to make its way into the public conversation.
This isn’t the first time LeBron has commented on Brittney Griner’s captivity. Back in June he shared a statement asking people, particularly athletes, to use their voices to try and bring Griner home.