Zlatan, mate, please, stop.
Zlatan Ibrahimović has doubled down on his comments directed at LeBron James, once again saying athletes should “stay out of politics.”
This war of words between one of the greatest sportsman to ever live and a 39 year old man with a ponytail began when the Ibrahimović criticised LeBron’s activism off the field. The Swede said:
“I don’t like it when people with a certain ‘status’ talk about politics. Do what you are good at. I play football because I am the best at it. If I was a politician, I’d have gone into politics.”
James then hit back, explaining that he will “never shut up,” explaining why he does what he does: to give a voice to those whose struggles are not being heard.
“I’ll use my platform to continue to shed light on everything that’s going on around this country and around the world,” the LA Lakers star said.
“There’s no way I would ever just stick to sports, because I understand how powerful this platform and my voice is.
“I speak from a very educated mind. I’m kind of the wrong guy to go at, because I do my homework.”
And now, speaking to Italian media, Zlatan has continued to speak on the matter, saying politics divides the world and sport unites it.
“Athletes unite the world, politics divide it,” he said Tuesday morning.
“Our role is to unite the world by doing what we do best. Athletes should be athletes and politicians should do politics.”
https://youtu.be/V-SrEXkpgE4
If Zlatan is implying that LeBron would be better off effecting change in the world by simply playing basketball really well, he is incredibly misguided.
It is also very disappointing to hear such nonsense come from a man who faced racism as a child in Sweden due to his background – his father is a Bosniak Muslim.
Surely then, he better than most should understand the power that world famous athletes have in bringing these important matters to the fore?
