LeBron James sparked plenty of outrage this weekend by announcing his latest deal off the court.
James has dominated the headlines this NBA offseason, and understandably so. The future Hall of Famer signed a two-year, $8 million deal with the Philadelphia 76ers. He said this will be the last stop in his legendary career.
“This is my last decision. I’m not going for money. I’m not going for family. What am I really playing for at this point? I still want to sacrifice,” James said. “I still want to work. I still want to grind. I still want to compete, to win and to have a chance at the feeling of winning another championship. I believe I can help make the Philadelphia 76ers a championship team and I am so excited to energize a new fan base and start this incredible journey one last time.”
While it’s been over a month since James announced his deal with the 76ers, he’s back in the headlines – this time around though, it’s for a pretty brutal reason.
On Saturday morning, James announced that he’s partnering with Polymarket, a prediction market platform. As soon as this news was shared on social media, NBA fans expressed their displeasure with “The King.”
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“Why does everybody need to sell out to these demons. Does he really need more money,” one fan asked.
“You don’t have enough money fam? Disgusting,” a second fan replied.
“Bron is a billionaire there’s no reason to be promoting trash like this dude,” a third fan commented.
“A billionaire getting sponsored by sports gambling companies,” another fan wrote.
This is a legit issue for the NBA.
Earlier this year, Giannis Antetokounmpo announced a partnership with Kalshi after the trade deadline ended. That decision didn’t sit well with NBA fans, that’s for sure.
“The NBA needs to suspend Giannis for a year minimum subject to ban until full divestment,” one person declared. “Athletes y’all made a social contract. You cannot be a part of any gambling in sports. You get millions to play the game. Sorry can’t bet it.”
“I’m a Giannis fan, but the league has to step in on this one,” a second fan wrote. “And I honestly only see two options: indefinite ban or total divestment by him and his family. And the ban would be for conduct detrimental to the league.”
While the responses to James’ partnership with Polymarket haven’t been as strong yet, it’s only a matter of time before people call for him to be suspended.
