Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris over former President Donald Trump on Thursday, while also taking aim at the Republican nominee's rhetoric.
The NBA's all-time leading scorer announced his endorsement on social media alongside a video highlighting comments from Trump's Madison Square Garden rally, including a joke from comedian Tony Hinchcliffe saying that he and a Black friend "carved watermelons" together, espousing a racist trope against African Americans.
The video also includes Trump's suggestion that "if you had one really violent day, one rough hour, and I mean real rough" would end property crime and his oft-used comment that illegal migrants are "poisoning the blood of our country."
"What are we even talking about here??" James wrote. "When I think about my kids and my family and how they will grow up, the choice is clear to me. VOTE KAMALA HARRIS!!!"
James has sparred with Trump in the past, including in 2017 when the Golden State Warriors were weighing whether to visit the White House after winning the NBA championship. Steph Curry said he would not visit the White House, and Trump wrote on social media that he was withdrawing their invitation as a result.
James responded in kind.
"U bum @StephenCurry30 already said he ain't going! So therefore ain't no invite," James wrote. "Going to White House was a great honor until you showed up!"
In 2018, conservative journalist Laura Ingraham criticized James for "talking politics" in an interview, saying that it's "unwise to seek political advice from someone who gets paid $100 million a year to bounce a ball" and advising the NBA star to "shut up and dribble." The quote became a rallying cry among athletes opting to use their voice to enact change.
James, who turns 40 in December, is currently in his 22nd season in the NBA after winning his third Olympic gold medal for Team USA over the summer. He previously endorsed Democratic candidates Joe Biden in 2020 and Hillary Clinton in 2016.