Lebron James violated the NBA’s health and safety protocols, but “shockingly” will not face suspension for the transgression. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, before their play-in game against the Golden State Warriors, James was in attendance for a promotional event for Lobos 1707 a brand of tequila with which he is associated.
“It’s a violation of the agreed upon protocols, and, as we have in other comparable instances around the league, it has been addressed with the team,” A league spokesman relayed to ESPN on Friday. Teammate Dennis Schröder was in violation of the same protocols was not spared and missed seven games.
To be objective, it is possible that he either showed a negative test or proof that he was vaccinated at the event. However he, and that is completely his right, playing it close to the vest in terms of his status, but the optics of this situation just look really bad. There have been several players who have missed time for violating these health and safety protocols, but it certainly raises an eyebrow how Lebron avoided this fate. For some detractors of both the NBA and/or Lebron James, this will be fuel for their assertions that the league picks and chooses what rules to enforce and whom to enforce them against in order to achieve the league’s goals. The lack of suspension should come as little surprise to anyone, considering who it is (Lebron James), the team he plays for ( the LA Lakers), and the timing ( right before the playoffs in a season that the league is desperate to draw ratings again).
