Sunday’s shocking ambush of two Los Angeles County sheriffs has led a fellow sheriff to issue a challenge to Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James to double the reward offered for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the shooter.
On Monday, Sheriff Alex Villanueva appeared on John Phillips’ KABC radio program and stated that the reward at that time was $175,000, then made his case to James.
“This challenge is to LeBron James. I want you to match that and double that reward,” Villanueva said. “I know you care about law enforcement. You expressed a very interesting statement about your perspective on race relations and on officer-involved shootings and the impact that it has on the African-American community.
“I appreciated that, but likewise, we need to appreciate that respect for life goes across all professions.”
“Let’s see what he does. I’ll be very curious to see what his response is, if any.”
As Villanueva noted, James has been quite vocal over police-related shootings of African-Americans, a situation that has been prominently in the news over the past six months.
In the wake of such shootings, James has offered angry commentary both verbally and on social media about the need for such shootings to stop.
Villanueva’s challenge was largely promoted among conservative commentators, who have criticized James in the past for those comments toward police as well as remarks directed at President Donald Trump.
James and the Lakers are currently waiting to see who they’ll face in the Western Conference finals. While James is more than capable of doubling the reward money, there’s no indication as to whether James has been made aware of the challenge or if he plans on accepting it.
