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  • 2021-05-03 (xsd:date)
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  • Did LeBron James Say He Wants Nothing To Do With White People? (en)
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  • The pilot episode of Lebron James' show The Shop, a talk show focused on frank discussions between the NBA star, businessman Maverick Carter, and various guests debuted on HBO in August 2018. In this first episode, James talked about his experience as a Black teenager from a predominantly Black neighborhood entering a mostly white environment as he started high school. James said: Carter, James' long-time friend and business partner who also played on James' basketball team at St. Vincent–St. Mary High School, added: Sports and basketball it's the most unifying thing. By the end of the year, all of us were best friends. Our black friends from the hood were coming. His white friends were coming and we were just all having a great time. In June 2020, as many NBA players made statements in support of nationwide protests against police brutality and racism, a brief quote from this interview was taken out of context and shared in the form of a meme: In May 2021, a few days after James made a statement about a 16-year-old girl who was shot and killed in Columbus, Ohio, a six-second clip from this episode of The Shop started to circulate on social media: This clip, as noted above, is missing context. James is not describing his current attitude toward white people or diversity. This six-second clip comes from a longer comment in which James discusses what it was like for a Black teenager from a Black neighborhood to attend a mostly white high school. In the full clip, James nods in agreement as his high school friend and business partner notes that while it was an odd experience at first, they quickly found themselves friends with their peers. (en)
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