Useful as it may be, social media can serve as a source of distraction and stress for everyone, and LeBron James has had enough. On Wednesday, James announced he’s taking a break from social media due to the amount of negativity on various platforms.
Seemingly out of nowhere, James posted a screenshot of a post from Rich Kleiman, Kevin Durant’s longtime agent and business partner. Kleiman called out sports media members who only “cover sports through negative takes.”
Above the image, James wholeheartedly endorsed Kleiman’s message.
James immediately followed that up with a post announcing he would be stepping back from social media for a while. The Los Angeles Lakers superstar didn’t give a timetable for his return to the World Wide Web.
Clearly, negative feedback on the internet has been on James’ mind lately. Following the Lakers’ 124-118 win over the Utah Jazz on Tuesday night, James praised rookie teammate Dalton Knecht and fired a shot those who call him a “liar” online.
“I don’t know. The same shit I said last year,” James said. “Everybody on the internet calls me a liar all the time. They say I lie about every f—ing thing. So what am I now? I’ve been said it. I watched him, I watched Tennessee a lot.
“I did not think he was going to fall to us. I thought it would be impossible. I have no idea how that happened but very grateful and very happy that he’s here. I knew exactly what we was getting when he fell to 17.”
This isn’t the first time James has cut out social media for a period of time. Back in the 2018 NBA Playoffs, James announced he was enacting “Zero Dark Thirty-23,” which was his own personal social media blackout.