Bar owner refuses to show NBA games until LeBron ‘expelled’

A Cincinnati, Ohio, bar owner said Wednesday that he will refuse play any NBA games at his establishment until NBA star Lebron James is “expelled” from the league.

“If anyone wants to watch an NBA game, don’t come to Linnie’s Pub,” owner Jay Linneman said in a Facebook post.

“We will not air them until Lebron James has been expelled from the NBA.” 

The declaration from the bar owner comes after James posted and then deleted a tweet of a picture of the officer who shot and killed 16-year-old Ma’Khia Bryant with the caption “YOU’RE NEXT #ACCOUNTABILITY.”

James’s tweet was made on the same day that a jury found former Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin guilty of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the killing of George Floyd last year. 

James and others in the NBA have been outspoken advocates for the Black Lives Matter movement, protesting against police brutality and treatment of Black Americans. 

“They just need to play the game and that’s it,” Linnerman said. “Their opinion doesn’t really matter. They’re using their position to push their opinions, and that’s just not right.”

James responded to reports of the bar owner’s decision saying “Aww Damn! I was headed there to watch our game tonight and have a drink! Welp.”

Aww Damn! I was headed there to watch our game tonight and have a drink! Welp. https://t.co/RRfRksjckM

— LeBron James (@KingJames) April 24, 2021

The basketball superstar and entrepreneur later said he deleted his tweet about the officer in the Ohio shooting because it was being used to create more hate.

The basketball superstar and entrepreneur later said he deleted his tweet because it was being used to create more hate.

“I took the tweet down because its being used to create more hate,” James said.

“This isn’t about one officer,” James added. “It’s about the entire system and they always use our words to create more racism.”

Bryant was fatally shot in the back several times after a police officer responded to a call of an altercation in Columbus, Ohio. Body camera video released this week showed that the officer, identified as Nicholas Reardon, shot her after she appeared to lunge at another woman at the scene. 

Reardon claimed in the video that Bryant had a knife. 

Updated: 4:45 p.m.