<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Celebrating his victory over Tyron Woodley on Saturday, UFC fighter Colby Covington took an unexpected jab at LA Lakers player LeBron James:</span></p>
<p class="p1"><em><span class="s1">“I want to dedicate this fight to all the first responders, all the military out there. You keep us safe. Not these &#8216;woke athletes.&#8217; Not these spineless cowards like LeBron James.&#8221;</span></em></p>
<p>When a handful of NBA players confronted Covington over his criticism of LeBron, he responded with another insult on Twitter:</p>
<p class="p1"><em><span class="s1">“LOL at the snowflakes that believe @KingJames could even last 10 seconds with me! If that coward had the balls or the ability to kick anyone’s ass, Delonte West would’ve lost his teeth long before his meth habit!”</span></em></p>
<p>(The insult refers to a rumor that West had an affair with LeBron&#8217;s mother.)</p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Unfazed by the attacks, LeBron made the following comment during an interview following the Lakers’ last-minute victory over the Denver Nuggets on Sunday night:</span></p>
<p class="p1"><em><span class="s1">“Anybody can talk from outside, but if they got into the ring or got into the arena, probably 10 times out of 10, they’d shit their pants.”</span></em></p>
<p><strong>The Backstory </strong></p>
<p>Colby Covington is a white Trump supporter. LeBron James is a black Trump critic who frequently speaks out about police brutality. This summer, he described Black Lives Matter as a lifestyle:</p>
<p><em>&#8220;A lot of people kind of use this analogy, talking about Black Lives Matter as a movement. It&#8217;s not a movement,&#8221; said LeBron after the Lakers defeated the Dallas Mavericks in July. &#8220;When you&#8217;re black, it&#8217;s not a movement. It&#8217;s a lifestyle&#8230; When you wake up and you&#8217;re black, that is what it is. It shouldn&#8217;t be a movement. It should be a lifestyle. This is who we are.&#8221;</em></p>
<p>Last month, LeBron said the NBA wouldn&#8217;t miss Trump after the president complained about players kneeling during the national anthem to protest systemic racism:</p>
<p><em>&#8220;You trying to make me laugh right now? I appreciate that,” said LeBron after the Lakers lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder in August. &#8220;I really don’t think the basketball community are sad about losing his viewership, him viewing the game. And that’s all I got to say.&#8221;</em></p>
<p>Conversely, President Trump is a big fan of Covington and actually phoned the fighter after his recent victory over Woodley. &#8220;<span class="s1">I’m a big fan and I’m proud of you,” said Trump. “You’re tough; you have the right spirit.”</span></p>
<p>Sources:</p>
<p><a href="https://www.foxnews.com/sports/ufcs-colby-covington-lebron-james-nba-players-jump-defense">Colby Covington says LeBron James couldn&#8217;t &#8216;last 10 seconds with me&#8217; after NBA players jump to star&#8217;s defense</a></p>
<p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-lebron-james-takes-subtle-jab-on-outsiders-amid-colby-covingtons-ufc-post-match-tirade/">LeBron James takes subtle jab on &#8216;outsiders&#8217; amid Colby Covington&#8217;s UFC post-match tirade </a></p>
<p><a href="https://lakersdaily.com/kevin-durant-austin-rivers-respond-ufcs-colby-covington-calling-lebron-james/">Kevin Durant and Austin Rivers Respond to UFC&#8217;s Colby Covington Calling Out LeBron James</a></p>
<p><a href="https://thesource.com/2020/09/21/lebron-james-sends-message-to-ufc-trump-supporter-colby-covington-anybody-can-talk-from-outside-the-ring/">LeBron James sends message to UFC Trump supporter Colby Covington: &#8216;Anybody can talk outside the ring&#8230;&#8217;</a></p>