NBA superstar LeBron James just made some questionable comments about the city of Memphis, Tenn., that have stirred up strong reactions online. But were his words just exposing an elephant in the room, or were they insensitive statements about a place that deserves more respect?
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In a Thursday appearance on the YouTube show “Bob Does Sports,” LeBron lobbed a couple of jabs at the iconic southern city — and many people think he should have handled it with more care. When asked about how he feels about his NBA travel schedule after 23 years in the league, he responded by sharing his honest opinion about some of the places he’d rather not have to visit.
“I’m f***ing 41 years of age. You think I want to do sh** in Memphis on a random Thursday?” he quipped, while strolling around the course with a club in his hand. “I’m not the first guy in the NBA to talk about this. You guys got to move the team… go over to Nashville already. They’ve got Vanderbilt over there, you’ve got NASCAR, don’t they have a hockey team, too? They’ve got everything.” He then said that if the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies had chosen him in the 2003 NBA Draft, “I might’ve pulled an Eli Manning and not showed up.” [Former NFL quarterback Eli Manning was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in 2004, but after making it clear that he would refuse to play for the team, he was traded to the New York Giants.]
James has made a point of having more free-flowing, offhand conversations in certain settings, as early as his HBO talk show “The Shop” with business partner Maverick Carter, and more often in the latter years of his career. Still, social media is full of people who feel that LeBron’s comments about Memphis are indicative of the same attitude that wealthy white folks have about Black culture, and that he should know better.
Andscape Senior Writer David Dennis Jr. went off about the issue on an ESPN Radio segment, calling James “unbelievably and unspeakably corny” for lambasting a city that has such a rich Black history with his “country club buddies” (the cohosts of “Bob Does Sports” are all white men).
“It takes two seconds of Googling to understand that Memphis is one of the pillars of civil rights. Go look up the Black Monday boycotts, the Volunteer Ticket campaign, and why Martin Luther King was there when he got assassinated,” he said. “When you’ve been part of these movements, the economic backlash lasts all the way into 2026. And these athletes are upset because they don’t have a Four Seasons to soak their crusty ass feet in the jacuzzi?”
Dennis Jr. also reminded listeners that James released a special Black History Month edition of his LeBron 23 sneaker this year in the colors of Memphis’ Lorraine Motel, the site of Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination that was later converted into the National Civil Rights Museum.
“What do we call someone who likes to take from the culture of a place he has nothing to do with?”Dennis Jr. asked. “He is a gentrifier in that aspect. You are a culture vulture in that aspect.”
Dennis pointed out that while members of the Grizzlies give back to the city, Memphis hotels have been the target of other players’ criticisms. The city also has a bad reputation for crime and gun violence, with President Donald Trump announcing plans in September to send military troops and federal agents to the city. For what it’s worth, a January 2026 report by Memphis Police alleges “sustained improvements” in overall crime, which is down 41 percent since 2023. The same report shows murders have decreased 47 percent.
Regardless of the realities of the city, LeBron is as bad a messenger as it gets in terms of speaking about the city so flippantly — especially when he’s established a reputation as one of the more politically active and socially aware modern sports superstars. This comment may ultimately be low stakes when it comes to his legacy, but it’s a misstep nonetheless.
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