LeBron: Kyrie's actions 'harmful to a lot of people'

Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James criticized former teammate Kyrie Irving's recent conduct Friday.

"I believe what Kyrie did caused some harm to a lot of people," James said, according to ESPN's Dave McMenamin. "And he has since … apologized. But he caused some harm, and I think it's unfortunate."

James added, "It doesn't matter what color your skin is, how tall you are, what position you're in. If you are promoting or soliciting or saying harmful things to any community that harms people, then I don't respect it. I don't condone it."

Irving tweeted a link to a movie that contained antisemitic tropes on Oct. 27. The Brooklyn Nets guard deleted the tweet following significant backlash but didn't apologize during multiple opportunities in front of the media.

The Nets suspended Irving for at least five games Thursday for a "failure to disavow antisemitism when given a clear opportunity." He apologized via Instagram following the suspension. Nike suspended its relationship with Irving on Friday.

James played alongside Irving for the Cleveland Cavaliers between 2014 and 2017. The 37-year-old, who's been with Nike since 2003 and signed a lifetime deal with the company in 2016, said he's unsure what Irving can do to repair his relationships with Nike and the Nets.

"I don't know the direction, the steps that he takes, but he's apologized for what he said, and I hope that he understands that what he said was harmful to a lot of people," James said.

"And we, as humans, none of us are perfect, but I hope he understands what he did and the actions that he took are just harmful to a lot of people."