NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Sport / Basketball

LeBron James apologises for 'Jewish money' Instagram post

By Cindy Boren
Washington Post·
24 Dec, 2018 06:10 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

LeBron James has apologised for posting a controversial lyric about "Jewish money" on his Instagram account. Photo / AP

LeBron James has apologised for posting a controversial lyric about "Jewish money" on his Instagram account. Photo / AP

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

LeBron James apologised "for sure, if I offended anyone" after posting a controversial lyric about "Jewish money" on his Instagram account, which has more than 45 million followers.

"We been getting that Jewish Money, Everything is kosher," James wrote on an IG story Saturday afternoon, quoting from the song ASMR by 21 Savage as he rode in a vehicle wearing a purple Lakers sweatshirt.

Darren Rovell, the former ESPN reporter now with the Action Network, was among those who criticised James Sunday, and the 33-year-old was contrite after the Los Angeles Lakers' 107-99 loss to the Grizzlies Sunday night.

"Apologies, for sure, if I offended anyone," he told ESPN. "That's not why I chose to share that lyric. I always [post lyrics]. That's what I do. I ride in my car, I listen to great music, and that was the byproduct of it. So I actually thought it was a compliment, and obviously it wasn't through the lens of a lot of people. My apologies. It definitely was not the intent, obviously, to hurt anybody."

According to ESPN, the NBA has no plans to fine James for the message.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Over the weekend, James also made headlines for his comments contrasting the NFL and NBA, saying that NFL owners are "a bunch of old white men" and "they got that slave mentality." James, who has become increasingly vocal about racial and social issues in recent years, made his comments in the latest episode of The Shop, which aired Friday night on HBO.

"In the NFL they got a bunch of old white men owning teams and they got that slave mentality," James said in an extended conversation with Maverick Carter, his business partner; Los Angeles Rams running back Todd Gurley; and actor/rapper Ice Cube. "And it's like, 'This is my team. You do what the f--- I tell y'all to do. Or we get rid of y'all.' "

He went on to praise NBA Commissioner Adam Silver for having an open mind about social commentary. "He doesn't mind us having . . . a real feeling and to be able to express that. It doesn't even matter if Adam agrees with what we are saying, he at least wants to hear us out," James said. "As long as we are doing it in a very educational, non violent way, then he's absolutely okay with it."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

James isn't the first to compare NFL ownership to slavery. In 2011, Adrian Peterson, then with the Minnesota Vikings, compared the league's labour situation to "modern-day slavery." Such language surfaced again last season, when players across the NFL demonstrated during the national anthem to raise awareness of racial injustice and police brutality.

As owners met last year to discuss how to convert players' actions to activism, Bob McNair, the Houston Texans' late owner, reportedly said, "We can't have the inmates running the prison." Former Texans wide receiver Cecil Shorts replied: "Inmates, slaves and products. That's all we are to the owners and others."

Last summer, after Cowboys owner Jerry Jones had required his players to stand for the national anthem, 49ers defensive back Richard Sherman accused Jones of having that "old plantation mentality."

There have been limited demonstrations in the NFL this season, but James pointed out in the interview that the game, whether it's pro basketball or pro football, is the people who play it.

Discover more

Basketball

LeBron James' adorable moment with youngest son

20 Dec 02:25 AM
NBA

LeBron: NFL owners 'old white men' with 'slave mentality'

22 Dec 04:39 AM
Basketball

Adams on NBA honour: 'I don't care, mate'

22 Dec 06:52 PM
Entertainment

NBA superstar photobombs actor's selfie

23 Dec 07:30 PM

"The players are who make the ship go," he said. "We make it go. Every Sunday, without Todd Gurley and without Odell Beckham Jr., without those players, those guys, there is no football. And it's the same in the NBA. . . . The difference between the NBA and the NFL: the NBA [cares about] what we believe [a player] can be, the potential.

"In the NFL, it's what can you do for me this Sunday or this Monday or this Thursday. And if you ain't it, we moving on."

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Basketball

Basketball

'Frustrating': Junior Tall Blacks' $5000 barrier to compete at World Cup

08 Jul 07:00 PM
Basketball

Junior Tall Blacks fall to US at U19 World Cup

05 Jul 10:58 PM
Basketball

Junior Tall Blacks reach U19 World Cup semifinals

04 Jul 11:25 PM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Basketball

'Frustrating': Junior Tall Blacks' $5000 barrier to compete at World Cup

'Frustrating': Junior Tall Blacks' $5000 barrier to compete at World Cup

08 Jul 07:00 PM

Each player had to pay $5000 to feature at the U19 World Cup in Switzerland.

Junior Tall Blacks fall to US at U19 World Cup

Junior Tall Blacks fall to US at U19 World Cup

05 Jul 10:58 PM
Junior Tall Blacks reach U19 World Cup semifinals

Junior Tall Blacks reach U19 World Cup semifinals

04 Jul 11:25 PM
Premium
Kiwi athletes urged to watch what they wear - or risk falling foul of drug testers

Kiwi athletes urged to watch what they wear - or risk falling foul of drug testers

29 Jun 12:00 AM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP