LeBron James criticized online for promoting a sports-gambling company
A viral Bluesky post accusing James of pushing gambling addiction for profit draws a large wave of comparisons to selling crack.
What to know
- A Bluesky post accusing LeBron James of profiting from gambling addiction, likening it to selling crack, drew nearly 3,000 likes and 135+ comments.
- Most commenters condemned James and celebrity gambling endorsements broadly, with several extending the criticism to Spike Lee and the sports-betting industry's advertising saturation.
- A smaller group of voices pushed back, arguing gambling is legal and no different from lotteries, alcohol, or the stock market, and that singling out James is unfair.
- Several commenters questioned why a billionaire athlete would need additional income from a socially harmful product.
The dispute Whether James's gambling endorsement is uniquely predatory or just one instance of a legal, widely tolerated vice industry. · positions read across 103 posts and comments
James is profiting from an addictive product that destroys lives, making him complicit like a drug dealer.
-
“You can tell that to a crack addict, but they never listen.”
zomneydomnitz.bsky.social · Bluesky ↗
Gambling is legal and ubiquitous, no different from alcohol, lotteries, or the stock market, so singling out James is overblown.
-
“GTFOHWTMFBS 🤡 The stock market, lotteries, fantasy leagues, weekly game pools, poker, mahjong, bingo…child please gambling is all over the place! And ALCOHOL is a bigger harm to society killing 178,000 every year”
cynharp777.bsky.social · Bluesky ↗
James's enormous existing wealth makes the endorsement pure greed rather than necessity.
-
“His net worth is 1.4B! Why does he need more!?!?”
jokersrwild.bsky.social · Bluesky ↗
LeBron James NBA player and endorserSpike Lee Filmmakerzomneydomnitz.bsky.social Original poster
How it unfolded 4 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump postscomments
-
4
Some commenters reframe gambling as a systemic industry problem, not just LeBron
Later replies broadened the critique beyond James, describing casino and betting-app business models as designed to strip customers of assets and noting the proliferation of gambling-app advertising.
“Business model of all casinos is to separate customers from ALL of their assets.”
— bigsteve61.bsky.social -
Business model of all casinos is to separate customers from ALL of their assets. If you don't have any money left they zero out your comps and call you a problem gambler. Until they bust you out you're a good customer. Society should be aware of this as we continue to let gaming proliferate.
2 more of the top 3 · 35 posts in this stretch
-
I don’t buy anything from the App Store (Shut up… Apple Music doesn’t count) Every fucking free app I downloaded now has nothing but Polymarket/Kalshi/Hard Rock Bets ads. For fucking fucks sake. Fuck every last one of them.
-
Did you ask the same thing about Gronk in 2015? What about when it was Eli, Peyton, or Derek Jeter?
-
-
3
Commenters extend criticism to Spike Lee and other celebrity endorsers
A commenter noted that filmmaker Spike Lee is also involved in similar promotion, framing it as a broader pattern of celebrities endorsing gambling despite its social harm.
“And Spike Lee too, apparently no longer concerned with doing the right thing.”
— craigstrimel.bsky.social -
And Spike Lee too, apparently no longer concerned with doing the right thing.
2 more of the top 3 · 34 posts in this stretch
-
He is and he's destroying lives Bc the thing about money & power is it brings out the worst in people. Even those who start out empathetic become jaded & disillusioned by all the parasites seeking handouts surrounding them. When they close themselves off that empathy & compassion is but a distant
-
GTFOHWTMFBS 🤡 The stock market, lotteries, fantasy leagues, weekly game pools, poker, mahjong, bingo…child please gambling is all over the place! And ALCOHOL is a bigger harm to society killing 178,000 every year but Modelo, Tequila and Whiskey commercials are all good…just stop🙄
-
-
2
Commenters pile on, comparing gambling promotion to drug dealing
Within hours the post generated dozens of replies agreeing with the comparison, with some saying gambling addiction is worse than crack because it offers no tangible product, and others noting James's wealth makes the endorsement look greedy.
“At least with crack you get something for your money 🤷♂️…”
— brett006.bsky.social -
At least with crack you get something for your money 🤷♂️
2 more of the top 3 · 33 posts in this stretch
-
don't buy it. don't bet. don't waste your money. don't listen to LeBron James. it's easy.
-
And it’s awesome (for a couple of minutes)!
-
-
1
Bluesky user accuses LeBron James of promoting gambling addiction
User zomneydomnitz posted that James is pushing people toward a gambling company that profits by getting people addicted, likening the endorsement to selling crack.
“He might as well be selling crack.”
— zomneydomnitz.bsky.social -
Z
LeBron pushing people into working with a company that exists to get people addicted to gambling so it can take all their money. He might as well be selling crack.
-
What people are saying 15 voices from 1 site · best of 103 · verbatim
- Sep 22
-
I find these sports 'sponsorships' by gambling businesses to be heinous. And for players to be encouraging sports fans to take part in gambling is rotten. Gambler addicts will do anything to get that 'high' of winning. Unfortunately, that high doesn't happen all the time. So, you keep gambling.
-
Sure looks like a sell out, making $$ on other people’s misfortune or possibly addiction. They should be forced to publicize the low percentage of winners, but no that would be a deterence
-
Crack is less profitable and far less reliable
-
There will be so many people that try it for the first time and love it. Then lose everything. To a disease that these greedy fucks are promoting!😞
-
Yeah, a lot of them started to sell because they were poor, or unemployed, or a user or addicted themselves.
-
Addiction is a weird thing. Hope that it never happens to you. You think it won’t.
-
It’s worse than crack. He’s a slime bucket.
-
His net worth is 1.4B! Why does he need more!?!?
-
He’s the George Jefferson of the addiction markets. He moved on up from crack!
-
I could respect him a little if he sold crack.
-
Gambling addiction is just another form of Crack.
-
I agree it’s disappointing he did not think it through just sees $$ signs
-
LeBron probably hardly pays any taxes. 🤬
-
Yes, just what young kids need? LeBron end it and fade away. Seriously dude
-
You can tell that to a crack addict, but they never listen.