The news of LeBron James bidding adieu to the Los Angeles Lakers has been received with dismay, with many speculating that it could be the fallout of James’ association with Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs.
The 39-year-old player has not addressed these rumours, but ESPN has reported that he will not be participating in the Friday match against the Minnesota Timberwolves due to personal reasons.
Is LeBron James Stepping Away from Lakers?
Unconfirmed reports say that LeBron James is taking a break from his stint with the Los Angeles Lakers, and the move is precipitated by ongoing legal struggles and off-court controversies.
This is not the first time the NBA star will be missing a game. Earlier, he missed the first match of the season played against the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday due to a sore foot.
Fans started guessing that something was amiss when the NBA player was conspicuous by his absence in the training session. Later, JJ Redick, the chief coach, confirmed that LeBron would not be playing for some time.
Redick stated after the practice session:
‘LeBron is not with the team right now. He’s out for personal reasons, excused absence.’
He also did not give a time frame for LeBron James’ absence and could not say when he would return to the field.
The news of LeBron’s absence came close on the heels of a diatribe by MMA fighter Colby Covington, who called out the past ties of the NBA legend with Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs. Colby also reminded about a video of James in conversation with Combs live on Instagram four years ago in which the NBA star could be heard saying:
‘Hey, everybody knows, ain’t no party like a Diddy party.’
The video soon went viral in September.
James told Combs in the clip, which went viral in September.
Colby, in a press conference on Wednesday, questioned what LeBron meant in the video and how many Diddy parties he had attended.
BREAKING: LeBron James is taking time away from the Lakers for “personal reasons.”
#lebronjames
Meanwhile, Sean “Diddy” Combs faces new lawsuits. 3 men accuse “Diddy” of drugging and raping them at NYC hotels
— AJ Huber (@Huberton) December 12, 2024
Sean Diddy is cooling his heels in prison after he was arrested in September from his home in Manhattan as part of an investigation involving sex trafficking and drugging and raping victims as young as nine. Diddy Combs is facing over 100 sexual abuse charges. Diddy’s parties were often attended by celebrated personalities and sometimes continued for four days. Combs has denied all the charges, claiming that whatever happened at his parties was consensual.
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