A seemingly deranged fan issued an ominous threat to Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James this week.
Boasting an anonymous Instagram account with the handle @witness.kevin.durant, the fan in question took to social media and hinted of an assassination plot directed towards James.
“On Thursday, February 19th, I will be going to a Nets vs Lakers game. I will sneak this gun showed in the picture into the arena and shoot @kingjames in the head during a timeout. You have been warned @kingjames.” the user posted.
Mental illness. Be safe @KingJames pic.twitter.com/DwdVkqJqcn
— Kendrick’s Burner ➐ (@KendrickPBurner) January 6, 2021
After the threat went viral, the fan took to social media claiming it was all one big joke.
“I’d like to publicly apologize for threatening LeBron AS A JOKE,” the fan wrote.
“I’ve come to realize things like these aren’t jokes and can be taken very seriously. I have over 500 requests after going private because someone posted it on Twitter. Y’all can hate on me all y’all want but I truly apologize and if I could go back in time and think before posting something like that I would.”
* Breaking *
The Response: pic.twitter.com/xVLl4m9dLV— Kendrick’s Burner ➐ (@KendrickPBurner) January 6, 2021
The fact that people like this exist in the world is deeply unsettling. Joke or not, the threat was inappropriate and whoever published it behind an anonymous account is an extremely dumb individual.
It is unclear whether the anonymous online troll is mad about James’ immense personal success or his political views or what, but regardless of the reason, this sort of thing is wholly unacceptable and needs to be condemned by everyone far and wide.
Paulina Gretzky knows what she’s doing.https://t.co/zfKrfjY8iP
— Game 7 (@game7__) January 3, 2021
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A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
