“That’s why I laugh at LeBron James" - UFC fighter Colby Covington outrightly accuses LA Lakers star of "putting targets on police officers’ backs"

LeBron James has been subject to heavy criticism for his political involvement, talking about matters he feels affect his country. One of those critics is UFC fighter Colby Covington, who recently brought up James on the “Full Send Podcast.”

Covington beat Jorge Masvidal earlier this month, scoring a unanimous decision. While he was invited to discuss the match, among other things, he spoke about taking a knee for the first respondents – midway through his battle.

Amid the praise he dished out to the police force and first respondents, Covington snuck in a remark about the four-time NBA champion:

“That’s why I laugh at LeBron James, you know. Like, dude, you’re talking s*** – you’re putting targets on police officers’ backs. But then you’re using police security every day.”

Covington’s comments on James are rooting out of James’ previous remarks on police brutality that has occurred on multiple occasions since 2020. In April 2021, James was outspoken about the killing of a 16-year-old teenager – tweeting the words “You’re next #accountability,” calling out the police officer involved. He subsequently deleted the tweet, claiming it was used to create more hate.

Before his recent fight, Covington called James a spineless coward again, during his prematch interviews:

“I wanna send a big thank you to all the real heroes and celebrities in this country. Not that woke, spineless coward like LeBron James. I’m talking about our heroes – law enforcement, military, our first respondents – God bless you all.”

While Covington may have a beef with the NBA star, James seems undeterred – choosing to ignore the UFC fighter and his ramblings. James has other problems to take care of, like the LA Lakers struggling to stay in contention.

LeBron James’ Lakers find themselves unable to close out games

The LA Lakers (31-43) have dropped to 10th in the Western Conference standings after giving away a 23-point lead to lose against the New Orleans Pelicans (32-43). James was on the floor for almost 42 minutes, recording 39 points, nine rebounds and five assists in Sunday's 116-108 loss.

Rookie Trey Murphy III went off in the third quarter, dropping 16 of his 21 points off the bench, as the Lakers had no answer for him. The Pelicans as they outscored the Lakers 26-14 in the fourth period. The Pelicans moved ahead of the Lakers into ninth place in the standings.

With just eight games left in the regular season, the Lakers need to ensure they do not drop out of the play-in tournament bracket. The San Antonio Spurs (30-44) are just one game behind the Lakers, currently riding a three-game winning streak.