Politics and Current
Former NFL star Le’Veon Bell slammed for sexist and vulgar remarks about Kamala Harris
Le’Veon Bell has jumped on board the train of former athletes and celebrities who’ve been gaining popularity by supporting Donald Trump – and critics say he went too far.
On Saturday, Bell, a former Pittsburg Steeler NFL player, posted your photo on X with the caption “Trump or The Tr*mp?”, wearing a T-shirt with the identical slogans above a viral photo of Trump clenching his fist after an attempt on his life, next to a photograph giving Vice President Kamala Harris an unflattering face.
Bell, who’s black, was immediately met with harsh reactions within the comments, and one particularly stood out.
“Why can’t you support your candidate without disrespecting a black woman running against him?” he tweeted Mari Copeny, a 16-year-old activist also often known as Little Miss Flint.
It was a stark contrast – a grown man casually attacking essentially the most powerful black woman in American politics – and a young black girl calling out the sexism at the center of his attack on Harris.
Le’Veon Bell, known for having giant Bible verses tattooed on his body, also excitedly tweeted a video of himself hanging out with Donald Trump ahead of a campaign rally in Pittsburgh together with former NFL player Antonio Brown.
“I was just on stage with @realDonaldTrump!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” Bell wrote on Twitter.
Both Bell and Brown spoke from the rostrum at Saturday’s rally within the swing state of Pennsylvania, giving no explanation for their endorsements beyond minor praise.
“Let’s go, Trump! You already know, vote for Trump. Let’s go!” Bell said.
“Tampon Tim Walz, he’s not a real football coach,” Brown said when it was his turn. “He would never be able to protect me.”
The look reflects a dynamic that became common during Trump’s campaign for president. Because there’s an absence of racial diversity within the Republican Party, any black one that supports Trump is noticeable, whether or not they are a D-list celebrity or a struggling former athlete. This is free promoting for someone trying to improve their profile or relevance. And it looks as if in Trump’s world, any black person can handle it, irrespective of how problematic or stereotypical they’re.
The case was previously reported by The New York Post. history in 2021 about how Le’Veon Bell was thrown into the air by an ex-girlfriend who called herself his sixth mom. Trump has also been accused of rape and sexual assault by not less than 26 women. None of this prevented Bell from attacking Harris – who’s happily married – with sexist profanities.
However, the image of a semi-profile black man denigrating a black woman in support of Trump only serves to support the criticism expressed by former President Barack Obama during a campaign stop featuring black men, which caused some response and hand-wringing in Democratic circles over the potential for offending black male voters. As Obama told the group:
“Part of it, I think, well, you just don’t feel comfortable with the idea of a woman being president, and you come up with other alternatives and other reasons.”
A majority of Black men surveyed actually support voting for Vice President Harris; nevertheless, for those that are undecided, Bell’s case provides an excellent case study to explore just one in every of the more uncomfortable reasons they could view Harris through a tainted lens.