By Kayleigh Hamilton
LeBron James should have never opened his mouth.
He tried to talk about gun control but made a dumb mistake.
Now he is getting ruthlessly mocked online for his ridiculous gaffe.
Often times when someone is extremely successful in one particular field, they become full of themselves and think that they are a genius and should weigh in on everything.
There is perhaps no more egregious example of that than LeBron James, who is obviously a great basketball player – though not the greatest – and uses that as a license to act as an expert on every single topic.
But he has hopefully learned his lesson about trying to be an expert on the topic of guns, gun control, and the Second Amendment.
He tried to pander to his mostly left-wing base of California NBA fans by putting himself on the record as a supporter of gun control.
But he didn’t realize how ignorant his statement made him sound about the issue he was trying to sell himself as an expert on.
And he was stunned by the blowback he received for coming out in favor of gun control.
According to the LA Times, “LeBron James’ tone was passionate, yet weary. Another shooting, this time in Las Vegas, more innocent people dead, and the Lakers superstar seemed to recognize that his plea for gun control sounds like a broken record.”
Here is what LeBron James had to say: “It makes no sense that we continue to lose innocent lives, on campuses, schools, at shopping markets and movie theaters and all type of stuff. It’s ridiculous. The fact that we haven’t changed anything — it’s actually been easier to be able to own a firearm. It’s stupid.”
The last statement is what got him absolutely clowned online. After all, it is certainly not easier to buy a firearm in the U.S. than it was in the past, although it should be.
Tom Knighton of Bearing Arms was furious when he heard these comments from LeBron James.
He wrote in a post on the site, “Really, LeBron? It’s been made easier to own a firearm? Then please, oh great and wise expert on gun laws in this country, please regale us with your citation of gun law changes that have made it easier for people to buy firearms.”
“See, the problem here is that LeBron, because he’s famous, thinks that he’s somehow smarter than the rest of us. He thinks he’s somehow more familiar with the issue than we are.
“Don’t get me wrong, he’s entitled to have an opinion and he’s entitled to voice that opinion. The problem is that he really doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”
He certainly does have a right to an opinion. But what he’s doing here is more than just voicing an opinion. He is scolding the American people for not listening to his “expertise.”
This type of arrogance from celebrities is far more of a turn-off to the average American, let alone gun owners, than people like LeBron James actually realize.