LeBron James clapped back at Zlatan Ibrahimovic after the soccer star told him to shut up and stay out of politics

• LeBron James has fired back at Zlatan Ibrahimovic after the AC Milan striker criticized his involvement in politics.
• "I will never shut up about things that are wrong," James told reporters.
• James also pointed out that the Swede himself once claimed he had suffered "undercover racism" in his home country.

LeBron James has fired back at Zlatan Ibrahimovic after the acclaimed AC Milan soccer star criticized his involvement in politics and social causes.

Ibrahimovic launched an unprovoked verbal attack on James last week during an interview with Discovery+ Sweden, claiming the NBA star should keep out of such issues and stick to basketball.

"He's phenomenal, but I don't like when people have some kind of status and they do politics and the same time as what they are doing," Ibrahimovic said.

"Stay out of it, do what you're best at because it doesn't look good."

Following the Los Angeles Lakers' win against the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday, James fired back at the Swede, telling reporters: "I will never shut up about things that are wrong. I preach about my people and I preach about equality, social justice, racism, voter suppression - things that go on in our community."

James has long been a campaigner for social justice in the United States.

He is at the forefront of the Black Lives Matter movement, and in June last launched his "More Than a Vote" initiative, which focused on improving voter turnout and reducing voter suppression in the Black community.

He was also critical of Donald Trump during his tenure as president, and has publicly spoken about the Capitol riots and the death of Breonna Taylor.

"I was a part of my community at one point and saw the things that were going on, and I know what's still going on because I have a group of 300-plus kids at my school that are going through the same thing and they need a voice," James added.

"I'm their voice and I use my platform to continue to shed light on everything that might be going on, not only in my community but in this country and around the world."

James also pointed to comments made by Ibrahimovic in 2018, when he claimed he had suffered "undercover racism" at the hands of the Swedish media because of the fact that he doesn't have a traditional Swedish surname and his parents weren't born in the country. The 39-year-old is the Swedish-born son of a Bosnian father and a Croatian mother.

"He's the guy who said in Sweden, he was talking about the same things, because his last name wasn't a [traditional Swedish] last name, he felt like there was some racism going on," said James.

"I speak from a very educated mind. I'm kind of the wrong guy to go at, because I do my homework."