'Jewish money': LeBron James apologizes for rap lyrics post
NBA superstar LeBron James has apologized after receiving criticism for posting controversial rap lyrics to his Instagram page.
James took to his Instagram page during the weekend, posting to his Instagram story using rap lyrics from 21 Savage's track "ASMR".
The lyrics said: "We been getting that Jewish money. Everything is Kosher."
James' post received criticism online with sports reporter Darren Rovell of The Action Network tweeting in response, saying: "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."
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
James apologized to anybody he may have offended in an interview with ESPN, saying: "Apologies, for sure, if I offended anyone.
"That's not why I chose to share that lyric. I always (post lyrics). That's what I do. I ride in my car, I listen to great music, and that was the by-product of it.
"So I actually thought it was a compliment, and obviously it wasn't through the lens of of a lot of people. My apologies. It was definitely not the intent, obviously, to hurt anybody."
Following James' apology, Rovell returned to Twitter to commend the NBA star for his response to the situation.
"Knew that @KingJames would apologize for quoting 'Jewish $.'" he said.
"One of the reasons he’s the off-the-court star he is is because he has an impressive emotional intelligence who, considering his time in social media age, has made so few mistakes."
Knew that @KingJames would apologize for quoting “Jewish $.” One of the reasons he’s the off-the-court star he is is because he has an impressive emotional intelligence who, considering his time in social media age, has made so few mistakes https://t.co/3bIUveWkwK
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) December 24, 2018
The sports business reporter also posted to his Instagram page, praising James for his apology, saying: "It was an uphill battle yesterday, but LeBron knows simply acknowledging a mistake goes a long way into helping people understand the other side of 'the coin.'"
The incident marked a somewhat turbulent week for James, who was broadcast criticizing NFL owners, labeling them "old white men" with a "slave mentality."
Appearing on HBO show "The Shop", James said: "In the NFL they got a bunch of old white men owning teams and they got that slave mentality. And it’s like, 'This is my team. You do what the f**k I tell y’all to do. Or we get rid of y’all.'"
James was also accused of tampering when he was quoted as saying he would like to play alongside New Orleans Pelicans power forward Anthony Davis.
