A former ESPN anchor has called out NBA superstar LeBron James for caving to Communist China, arguing he has an opportunity to “make a stand” against the country’s brutal regime.
Bob Ley also took to slamming the media for blasting some of the country’s top golfers for joining the new Trump-endorsed LIV Golf Series.
Ley, an Emmy Award-winning host who spent decades at ESPN hosting shows like “SportsCenter,” called out James and those in the media throwing stones at the golfers.
“It’s real easy to be pissed off and angry about LIV Golf and the Saudis,” he said.
“All I ask for is philosophical and ideological consistency.
“Apply it to China consistently, LeBron. LeBron, I think, has a responsibility, and an opportunity more importantly.
“And it’s easy for people to come to the conclusion that players, at a time when social voice and equity are very much a part of sports, mores o than ever before, here’s an opportunity to make a stand.
“If you are a billionaire, you can afford to perhaps make a stand and at least become educated.
“China has as many issues as any other country, and is the outrage tempered by the popularity of the sport and the dollars at stake?
“If you wanna get in a froth about LIV Golf, and you have every right to, take a pause, take a deep breath and look at China and see, should this outrage or this introspection and this attention extend to the NBA?” he said.
Greg Norman, the frontman for the new league said of Phil Mickelson joining:
“Phil Mickelson is unequivocally one of the greatest golfers of this generation.
“His contributions to the sport and connection to fans around the globe cannot be overstated and we are grateful to have him.
“He strengthens an exciting field for London where we’re proud to launch a new era for golf.”
Dustin Johnson said when he joined the LIV Golf league: “I resigned my membership from the Tour and I’m going to play here, for now.
“That’s the plan,” Johnson said in a news conference Tuesday morning.
“What the consequences are going to be I can’t comment on how the Tour’s going to handle it.
“I can’t answer for the majors, but hopefully, they’re going to allow us to play.”
“The Ryder Cup is unbelievable and has definitely meant a lot to me,” Johnson added.
“I’m proud to say I’ve played and represented my country and hopefully I will get a chance to do that again, but I don’t make the rules.”
“If someone wants to play on a Ryder Cup for the U.S.,” PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh said last year, “they’re going to need to be a member of the PGA of America, and they get that membership through being a member of the PGA Tour.”
“Dustin’s been contemplating this for the past two years and decided it was in his and his family’s best interest to pursue it,” Johnson’s agent David Winkle said.
“He’s never had any issue with the PGA Tour and is grateful for all it’s given him but in the end felt this was too compelling to pass up.”
Tom Cruise has recently been hugely rewarded for telling China to go pound sand.
The Chinese Communist Party demanded the producers of Cruise’s hit new anti-woke movie “Top Gun: Maverick” edit out the pro-America and pro-Taiwan themes.
However, Cruise and his producers refused, causing the movie to be banned in China.
His sequel to Top Gun just broke a box office and personal record for Tom Cruise after it passed $1 billion in worldwide ticket sales.
This is the first movie with Cruise to pass the $1B mark.
“Top Gun: Maverick” is Paramount’s biggest live-action movie in 15 markets; the U.K., Australia, France, and Brazil.
It is the studio’s highest-grossing original release at the domestic box office behind Titanic.
According to The Hollywood Reporter: “Director Joseph Kosinski’s film passed the barrier after finishing Sunday with an estimated domestic total of $521.7 million and $484.7 million overseas for a global cume just north of $1 billion.”
“Top Gun: Maverick enjoyed a boost in its fifth-weekend thanks to being re-released in select Imax and premium large-format screens.
“The Paramount and Skydance release grossed $30.5 million domestically and $44.5 million overseas for a weekend total.”
