LeBron violated the NBA’s Covid-19 protocols last week when he attended a promotional event with celebrities Drake and Michael B. Jordan. Violating the league’s health and safety protocols is a suspension worthy offense, but the NBA gives preferential treatment to their superstars.
Shortly after the event, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweeted that the league did not intend to suspend LeBron, because the incident, “didn’t rise to a threat level of virus spread.”
But Charles Barkley explained it differently during an interview with LaJethro Jenkins on Yahoo Sports’ Dunk Bait.
“The NBA ain’t got the balls to f*cking suspend LeBron James. Zero,” Barkley said. “Hey, the NBA, they ain’t got no chance of suspending LeBron James. If it was a nobody, they would put him in healthy and safety protocols. Ain’t no f*cking way LeBron James is going to be sitting out with all the health and safety protocols.”
If this was a marginal player who attended the event, it’s fair to question if the league would have responded differently.
But we do know preferential star treatment is prominent in the NBA and most professional team sports. Stars get to fire coaches, they influence the acquisition of other players, they get away with fouls on the court and in this case, LeBron got away with a violation off the court.
Watch above.