DALLAS — LeBron James doubled down on his comments from earlier in the week about Memphis.
When asked after the team’s Saturday practice at Southern Methodist University if he wanted to clarify comments he made about Memphis during an appearance on the “Bob Does Sports” show, in which he suggested the Grizzlies should be relocated to Nashville, James pointed out that Memphis wasn’t the only city he was critical of.
“I said Milwaukee as well,” James said. “I’m 41 years old, there’s two cities I do not like playing in right now: that’s Milwaukee and that’s Memphis. I don’t like going home either, s–t, and I’m from there. People are ridiculous. They also get mad at my son being on the team, too.”
While appearing on the YouTube show, James was asked about whether in-season travel wears on him, with the Lakers star acknowledging it does.
“A random f—ing Tuesday in Milwaukee, staying at the f—ing Hyatt at 41 years old; you think I want to do that s–t?,” James said on the show. “Being in Memphis on a f—ing random ass Thursday? I’m not even, like, the first guy to talk about it in the NBA. We’re all, like, ‘You guys have to move.’ Just go over to Nashville. You’ve got Vanderbilt over there. You’ve got the f—king NASCAR. You’ve got a stadium. Don’t they got a hockey team, too? They’ve got everything.”
James’ comments were widely criticized, especially from those in Memphis, citing Memphis being one of the more densely-populated cities of Black people (by percentage of population) compared to other NBA cities.
“Did I say I don’t like Black people? No,” James said.
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He added: “I’m not talking about the city, like the people in Memphis. I don’t like staying at the Hyatt Centric. What’s wrong with that? Nothing. What are we talking about? What are we talking about? People need to chill the hell out.”
Memphis Mayor Paul Young responded to James’ original comments by inviting him to his city.
“I would welcome the chance to turn your criticism into action in one of the most important cities in the world,” Young wrote in Facebook post, which included ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith and Kendrick Perkins complimenting Memphis. “Come to Memphis and roll around with me for a bit and I will show you some of the culture and powerful investment opportunities in our City. Let’s do something epic in one of the largest majority Black cities in the nation!”
