Cavs owner gets ‘vile’ voicemails after LeBron’s ‘bum’ tweet

Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert received “vile, disgusting” voicemails after LeBron James called President Donald Trump a “bum” on Twitter.

Gilbert said he was flooded with phone messages when the NBA’s most celebrated player criticized Trump for rescinding a White House invitation to Golden State’s Stephen Curry to honor the team’s NBA championship.

“I received voicemails after LeBron tweeted that were some of the most vile, disgusting, racist,” Gilbert said on Friday on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”

“There’s an element of racism that I didn’t even realize existed in this country this much.”

Gilbert said he had not told James about the voicemails. He called the comments unnerving.

“And you could hear it in their voice — the racism,” Gilbert said. “It wasn’t even really about the issue, and that’s what really got me, because they went to who they really are, some of them.”

No regrets

This week, James said he did not regret his comment about Trump.

“Me and my friends call me that all the time,” James said

There’s an element of racism that I didn’t even realize existed in this country this much. DAN GILBERT Cavs owner

during a news conference on media day. “I’m not his friend, though. He’s not my friend. No, when I woke up and saw what he said about Steph Curry. First of all, it’s so funny because it’s like you inviting me to your party, right? As a matter of fact, it’s not like you invited me.

“It’s almost, like, ‘Hey, I’m not going to be able to make it. I’m not coming and then you would be like, ‘LeBron, guess what? You’re not invited.’ I wasn’t coming anyways, so that was funny to me when I woke up and saw that. So, my first initial response was, you bum.”