Zlatan Ibrahimovic meant what he said about LeBron James and other politically minded athletes.
The soccer superstar clarified his controversial opinion on athletes discussing political issues Tuesday during his appearance on the "San Remo Show." Ibrahimovic last week said he believes athletes should stick to sports, drawing a stern rebuke from James. He believes James and other athletes should stick to what they're good at because sports unites the world, while politics divides it.
"Racism and politics are two different things," Ibrahimovic said Monday, per The Mail. "We athletes unite the world, politics divides the world. Everyone is welcome (in sports), it has nothing to do with where you are from, we do what we do to unite. We don't do other things because we are not good at it, otherwise, I would be in politics. That's my message. Athletes must be athletes, politicians must be politicians."
Zlatan's clarification seems to have come in response to LeBron calling him out for apparent hypocrisy. Perhaps that's why Ibrahimovic made the important distinction between James' anti-racism and political efforts in the clarification.
Nevertheless, Ibrahimovic and James both have dug in their heels on their respective opinions, so a resolution to this simmering "Zlatan versus LeBron" feud appears to be a long way off.
