NBA star LeBron James said he stopped being a fan of the Dallas Cowboys over what he called the organization’s stance regarding its players kneeling during the national anthem.
During the 37-year-old Lakers star’s appearance with his business partner Maverick Carter on Instagram Live Thursday night, James was asked about his notable silence showing his fandom for the Cowboys, reports CBS Sports.
Carter told the basketball star that he hadn’t heard James “talk s*** about the Cowboys in a long time.”
“You still a Cowboys fan?” Carter asked.
“Nah man, I had to sit out on the Cowboys, man. It just a lot of things that [were] going on when guys were kneeling and guys were having freedom of speech,” James said. “And wanted to do it in a very peaceful manner. You know, a lot of people in the front office and a lot of people that ran the organization was like, ‘If you do that around here, you won’t ever play for this franchise again.’ And I just didn’t think that was appropriate.”
WATCH:
LeBron James on why he’s not @dallascowboys fan anymore:
“Nah man I had to sit put on the Cowboys man. It just a things that were going on when guys were kneeling… [The] organization were like if do that around here you won’t play for this franchise again.”#DallasCowboys pic.twitter.com/gYusCcs8KY
— Landon Buford (@LandonBuford) October 27, 2022
“I like a lot of the players on the team still,” he added, before noting that he had to “turn it in,” revealing which team he now favors.
“I’m all in on the [Cleveland] Browns,” James continued, throwing his support behind the team that currently stands at 2-5 for the season.
During the 2017 season, the Cowboys players did not join with other professional sports teams at the time who kneeled before the anthem. The owner of the team, Jerry Jones, made it known that kneeling wasn’t going to be supported.
“If there is anything disrespecting the flag, then we will not play,” Jones said at the time. “Period. We’re going to respect the flag and I’m going to create the perception of it.”
“I know this, we cannot … in the NFL in any way give the implication that we tolerate disrespecting the flag,” he added. “We know that there is a serious debate in this country about those issues, but there is no question in my mind that the National Football League and the Dallas Cowboys are going to stand up for the flag. So we’re clear.”
At one point on the show, James made an announcement that his show “The Shop” was going to be part of the November 17 Thursday Night Football broadcast.