🏀 LeBron Just Handed Israel a Disgusting Propaganda Clip They’ll Use for Years. He's Either a Fool, a Zionist, or Both.

Not tone-deaf. Not “just ignorant.” A gift to genocide apologists—and it’s going viral.

Ramadan and NBA All-Star weekend collided in the same news cycle, and I didn’t expect LeBron James—a man I’ve respected for a long time—to give Israel a clean, glowing soundbite at the exact moment Gaza’s pain has been dragged across the earth for well over two years.

But that’s what happened.

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Now let’s talk about what LeBron said—because this is not small.

During All-Star weekend, an Israeli reporter asked LeBron about Israel and about Israeli player Deni Avdija. LeBron praised Avdija’s game and then said something that made my stomach turn:

He said he’s never been to Israel, but he’s “heard nothing but great things,” and he hopes to visit someday.

Really? I don’t believe you. There is NOT A PERSON ON EARTH who has only heard great things about Israel. Israelis have not only heard great things about Israel. Either he is lying or he’s a complete fool or he’s a Zionist or maybe a mix of all of them.

The leaders of Israel are INDICTED WAR CRIMINALS. Every credible organization in the world has said Israel is overseeing an open genocide.

That line is already going viral. And I need you to understand why it’s so dangerous.

This is sportswashing.

Sportswashing is when powerful governments use sports—athletes, leagues, cameras, celebrity—to polish their image and make the world forget what they’re doing to human beings. It’s PR disguised as a jersey swap. It’s “look over here” while the crimes keep happening over there.

And LeBron—whether he meant to or not—just handed them a clip they can replay forever.

“I’ve heard nothing but great things.”

Sisters and brothers… that is not “neutral.” That is not “staying out of politics.” That is choosing a side with a smile, at the exact moment Palestinian families are trying to survive the unthinkable.

And I’m going to be blunt: there is no way on Earth a grown man with LeBron’s access, money, advisors, and global platform has “heard nothing but great things.” That isn’t ignorance. That’s negligence. That’s choosing comfort over conscience. That’s choosing brand safety over human life.

Why This Clip Will Be Used as Propaganda
Let me spell out what’s about to happen next, because I’ve seen this movie too many times:

• They will loop this line on Israeli TV and pro-Israel social media as proof that “the world supports us.”

• They will use LeBron’s name to drown out the cries of Palestinians, as if celebrity admiration outweighs mass death.

• They will point to this clip whenever athletes, fans, or journalists speak up for Gaza and say, “See? Even LeBron says Israel is great.”

• They will wrap themselves in Black excellence—without earning a single ounce of Black solidarity—while Palestinians are starved, caged, displaced, and buried.

That is what sportswashing does. It steals the glow of greatness and uses it to blind people.

And I hate that LeBron just helped them do it.

Because I’ve defended LeBron before. I’ve applauded him before. I’ve watched him grow into a man who—at times—has shown real courage. He has spoken about racism, about police violence, about injustice. He has put his money into schools and kids and communities. He has been, in many ways, an example of what it looks like to build something bigger than yourself.

So when he says he’s “heard nothing but great things” about a state accused by leading human rights experts and UN officials of committing atrocities in Gaza, it doesn’t just land wrong.

It lands disgraceful.

And yes—people will try to water this down by saying, “He didn’t mention politics.”

But that’s the point.

When the situation is this extreme, silence isn’t neutral—and praise isn’t “just being polite.” In a moment where children are pulled from rubble and families break down in hunger and grief, saying “I’ve heard great things” is not a harmless throwaway.

It is moral failure.

A Simple International Law Truth
I want to keep this plain and simple.

Under international law—the rules countries agreed to after the horrors of World War II—civilians are supposed to be protected, not treated as disposable. The Geneva Conventions are a big part of that. In basic terms: you don’t get to collectively punish an entire population. You don’t get to treat every child like a suspect. You don’t get to starve people and bomb them and then call it “security.”

And when credible legal bodies and investigators warn that a people may be facing genocide, that word has a specific meaning: the intentional destruction of a people, in whole or in part. It’s not a casual insult. It’s a legal alarm bell.

So with that backdrop—with Gaza bleeding in front of the whole world—LeBron chose to say he’s heard “nothing but great things.”

That’s why I’m furious.

Objection & Answer
Somebody will say: “Shaun, he’s a basketball player. He was just answering a question. Leave him alone.”

No.

Here’s the truth: LeBron isn’t “just” anything. He’s one of the most influential athletes in human history. His words carry global weight. And Israel understands that—that’s why they ask these questions, on camera, at global events.

Somebody else will say: “He didn’t endorse the genocide.”

And I’m telling you: you don’t have to endorse the bombs to be used as cover for the bombers. A clean compliment at the wrong time becomes a shield. And that’s exactly how propaganda works.

And somebody else will say: “He meant he heard great things about the people.”

Then say that. Say: “I’ve heard the people are beautiful.” Say: “I pray for peace and dignity for everyone.” Say: “I don’t know enough to speak, but I care about human life.” Say anything that doesn’t function like an advertisement.

But “I’ve heard nothing but great things” about Israel, right now, with Gaza in ashes?

Nah.

That’s not clumsy. That’s not harmless.

That’s a gift.

What I Wish LeBron Understood
LeBron has spent his life navigating power. He knows what it feels like to be used, misquoted, manipulated. He knows how media works. He knows how narratives get built.

So I need him—and every athlete watching—to understand this:

When you are asked a political question by a government-aligned outlet or a propagandist with a microphone, the safest thing for your conscience is not a smile. It’s not a travel-brochure compliment. It’s not PR.

Sometimes the most powerful sentence in the world is:

“I care about human life. I’m not here to be used.”

That’s it.

Because right now, Palestinians are not asking the world for poetry. They are asking the world to stop helping the people hurting them.

And I’m saying this as somebody who has admired LeBron for a long time:

I’m disappointed. I’m disgusted. And I’m not going to pretend this is okay.

If he cleans this up, I’ll say so. If he learns from it, I’ll respect that. But until then, this clip will keep circulating like a weapon—because that’s what sportswashing does.

And we don’t have the luxury of ignoring it.

If you value this kind of truth-telling—and if you want our reporting to stay free for the world—please click here to become a member. And click here to join as a monthly, annual, or founding member.

Love and appreciate each of you.
Your friend and brother,
Shaun

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