On Wednesday, Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James called out the amount of negativity in national sports media at the moment and announced that he’s taking a break from social media. James hasn’t posted on X since then.
AMEN!! @richkleiman 🫡 pic.twitter.com/OZr9e1CVbY
— LeBron James (@KingJames) November 20, 2024
And with that said I’ll holla at y’all! Getting off social media for the time being. Y’all take care ✌🏾👑
— LeBron James (@KingJames) November 20, 2024
Sports journalist Jemele Hill had some harsh words for X amid James’ social media hiatus. First, she implied that the platform isn’t what it once was.
Twitter has become largely untenable. Selfishly, I hope he deactivates his account. https://t.co/SCA3cYmu9W
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) November 20, 2024
A few hours after that, she responded to a user who pushed back against her original post.
We are the same people who come from some of the worst neighborhoods in our towns/cities, especially Bron, twitter words don’t compare to that.. I think being a sore loser and having to actually engage uncensored oppositional politics really annoys the left. It’s a soft move
— M (@UrbanTomSowell) November 21, 2024
“You all are under the twisted belief that subjecting yourself to constant vitriol and engaging with a–holes is some kind of badge of honor,” Hill wrote in response. “It’s not. It’s annoying and draining. Nobody owes you a debate or engagement.
“This app is at an all-time low. It’s full of racists, conspiracy theorists and jerks. If that’s what y’all consider intellectually stimulating, God help you.”
X (formerly known as Twitter) is currently owned by Elon Musk, who is expected to have a role in the upcoming Donald Trump administration. He, along with Vivek Ramaswamy, will be tasked with heading the Department of Government Efficiency.
Hill has long been a critic of Trump. In 2017, she made headlines by describing him as a white supremacist.
While she still posts on X somewhat consistently, Hill is one of many folks who have joined the social media platform Bluesky. She made a number of posts to her Bluesky account on Thursday and admitted to one X user that she’s been spending lots of time on the up-and-coming platform instead of X.
I’m already on there and spending most of my time there
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) November 21, 2024
Hill is an accomplished sports journalist with experience covering multiple sports. She previously worked for ESPN for a number of years.
It may be in the best interest of James as well as the Lakers for him to take a break from social media and avoid distractions.
James and the Lakers have looked locked in to begin the 2024-25 regular season. Los Angeles has won 10 of its first 14 contests of the campaign, and the 39-year-old has played in every one of those games without showing his age much at all.
Perhaps he’s taken a small step back from a scoring standpoint compared to years past, as he’s averaging 23.5 points per game, but he’s been incredibly efficient, shooting 51.5 percent from the field and 41.6 percent from deep.
James is also still passing and rebounding the ball seemingly as well as ever, considering he’s averaging 8.1 rebounds and 9.4 assists per contest so far in his 22nd NBA season.
