Matteo Berrettini certainly did not mean anything by what he posted about LeBron, but social media made it such a huge issue that he had to delete it and apologize for his actions.
Berrettini, who has been one of the top Italian players on the men’s circuit over the last few years, issued an apology to fans after his post on LeBron James caused a stir.
The Italian star posted a story on LeBron James on his official Instagram where he shared a photo of James wearing a Drew League jersey and added two emojis: a crown and a gorilla.
An emoji of a gorilla next to a Black man has racist connotations to it.
Matteo would later issue the below apology:
“I am very sorry if my previous story post offended anyone,” he wrote. “I was informed that it can easily be misinterpreted so I have deleted it. Lebron is my biggest idol. Incredible role model and inspiration.”
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James scored 42 points in a successful return to the Drew League while teaming up with DeMar DeRozan for a 104-102 win in L.A.’s famed pro-am basketball league Saturday.
