Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James said he was the wrong target for criticism, after which international soccer sensation Zlatan Ibrahimovic was doubling down on his message that athletes should turn to sports.
Ibrahimovic said in an interview with Discovery + on Thursday that it was a “mistake” for James and other athletes to get involved in politics, calling the NBA star a firefighter: “I’m really the wrong person because I do my homework.”
Zlatan Ibrahimovic: LeBron James, excerpts from another game ‘You should do what is good,’ should go beyond politics.
Ibrahimovic raised his ground during a news conference on Tuesday.
“Athletes unite the world, politics divides it,” he said. “Our role is to unite the world by doing what we do best. Athletes should be athletes and politicians should do politics.”
Ibrahimovic, who is currently playing in Serie A for AC Milan, said last week that while James is “extraordinary at what he does”, he believes he should stick to what he has to do best.
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“… I don’t like that when people have some kind of status, they go and do politics at the same time.” “Do what you’re good at. Do whatever class you do. I play football because I’m the best at playing football. I don’t do politics. If I were a political politician, I would do politics. That’s the first mistake. People do it when they become famous and they get into a certain position. Stay away from it. Do what you do best because it doesn’t feel good. “
The comment prompted James to speak out on behalf of his activism.
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“I will use my platform to continue to shed light on everything that is happening in this country and around the world,” he said on Friday.
“There’s no way I’m going to stick with sports all the time because I understand how powerful this platform and my voice are.”
Daniel Canova and Ryan Gaydoz of Fox News contributed to this report.
