The New England Patriots deciding to come out swinging at the start of the NFL’s 2021 legal tampering period and sign [checks notes] eight free agents so far, has not just shaken up the team and the league’s free agency markets but also players in other sports leagues. LeBron James, small forward for the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers, for example, took to social media on Tuesday to directly address Patriots head coach Bill Belichick:
Coach Belichick like y’all got me all the way F’d up!!
James is an avid follower of pro football and also played the sport in high school. He was rather successful at it as well, catching 27 touchdowns in two seasons as a wide receiver for St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio. In 2011, during the NBA lockout, he also received an invitation to a free agency tryout by the Seattle Seahawks.
James eventually declined the opportunity, but later expressed his confidence that he would have made the Seahawks’ roster.
“I would have made the team,” he told The Athletic. “I would have tried out, but I would have made the team. One thing about it, I don’t mind working for something, so if I would have had to try out for the Cowboys or the Seahawks, or if I’d have stayed home and went back home to Cleveland, I’d have tried, but I would have made the team. I just know what I’m capable of doing on the football field. Especially at that age.”