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Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James: "Help me out folks"
Photo: Eric Christian Smith / AP
Basketball superstar LeBron James from the NBA club Los Angeles Lakers has caused criticism with a controversial corona post on Instagram.
James labeled a meme widespread on the Internet, on which three Spiderman characters point to each other, with Covid, cold and flu and commented with a shrug of the emoji: "Help me understand that."
For the posting, which he had already canceled last week, he was heavily criticized in some cases.
At the press conference after his Lakers' 132:12 success at the Houston Rockets on Tuesday evening (local time), James commented on it.
“We're all trying to understand this pandemic.
We're trying to understand Covid and the new variants and the flu. "
James did not specifically respond to the criticism, including from Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, for downplaying the corona virus.
Instead, he said that many children in his daughter's class right now would get a common cold or flu.
And this will be forgotten.
"Makes the situation worse for us all"
Abdul-Jabbar had written in an essay to James ("Dear LeBron") that the post was "a blow" to James' "worthy legacy".
He supported those who did not get vaccinated, "which makes the situation worse for all of us."
Abdul-Jabbar also pointed out the deadliness of the coronavirus, which is how it differs from a flu or a cold.
The now 74-year-old won the NBA title once with the Milwaukee Bucks and five times with the Los Angeles Lakers.
He has topped the list of NBA players with the most points for years.
James had announced before the season that he was vaccinated against the coronavirus.
Previously, however, he had also expressed skepticism about the vaccines.
He is considered a socio-political heavyweight and is one of the most widely noticed voices of the black US population.
James has around 106 million Instagram followers.
The Lakers win at the Rockets was their first after five straight defeats.
With a balance of currently 17:18, the team with numerous stars is playing a disappointing season.
With the exception of four players, all professionals have already been on the Covid list at least once, including head coach Frank Vogel.
ngo / dpa / Reuters