LeBron James rebukes his critics with a personal message to Kawhi Leonard

Since Kawhi Leonard announced his decision to part ways with the U.S. Olympic team due to growing health concerns, the public reaction to his decision has been questionable to say the least. LA Clippers fans have generally been vocal in their support of their star player, but the comments from some other NBA fans (or even neutral observers) have been a bit off-putting.

The most negative comments came from those who felt that Kawhi was finished, that he would never be the same again, and some even had the audacity to say that he should retire. The truth is that we do not know exactly the state of Kawhi’s health, but it seems obvious that we should all hope for a speedy recovery from his knee inflammation, regardless of the team he belongs to.

But as we know, talking heads and random anonymous accounts on the internet love to poke fun at other people’s situations for their own amusement. LeBron James recently sent a personal message to Kawhi, reassuring him and seemingly reprimanding the haters in the process.

Speaking to reporters at a Team USA press conference, LeBron expressed the level of solidarity the other members of the Olympic team feel with Leonard despite his unfortunate departure. “He’s a brother of ours,” James said. “He’s part of the brotherhood whether he’s here or not. He’s got to take care of himself and that’s all that matters.”

It is certainly disappointing that Kawhi’s health does not allow him to fully participate in what appears to be a special group. But at the same time, it is comforting to hear the words of arguably Team USA’s greatest verbal leader publicly express his support for his brother, reassuring him that they support him in his recovery.

As we know, Kawhi is a person who tends to march to the beat of his own drum. But it must always be encouraging to hear LeBron express his support so publicly. Hopefully, Leonard will be back on the court in top form when the Clippers open their season at the brand new Intuit Dome in October.