Jason Whitlock goes viral after saying LeBron James is too rich to face racism

(Sinclair Broadcast Group) - Fox Sports 1 commentator Jason Whitlock is at the center of controversy after disagreeing with LeBron James’ viewpoint that “being black in America is tough.”

On Wednesday, James reacted to a racist slur that was painted on the front gate of his Los Angeles home. The basketball All-Star stated, “It doesn't matter how much money you have, no matter how famous you are, no matter how many people admire you, being black in America is - it's tough.”

Whitlock challenged James’ comments by saying that being poor is the worst thing to be in America.

The worst thing to be in America and anywhere on the planet is poor. Go do the numbers, go through the stats. If you’re poor regardless of color you’re catching hell in America and on this planet.

LeBron has risen above poverty to that special elevated place we have in society where pretty much nothing can bother him. To sit here and say that ‘Oh my God, my house was vandalized in L.A. and on the eve of this greatest sporting event I’m traumatized.’ It’s just not true.

It was all said for the benefit of social media and Twitter. I’m fired up about this because again, this is the ‘Embrace Debate’ network. That’s what we label ourselves as. And so I’m not out of bounds when I say I watched “Undisputed” and saw Shannon Sharpe today say the hardest thing is being black in America.

Have you ever tried to be a veteran that has lost a leg in America? Have you ever been a poor person accused of a crime and forced to go with a public defender in America? (A person) Of any color.

If you’re poor regardless of color you are catching hell. I’ve been poor, Shannon’s been poor. We know the difference. We know how good our lives are and we don’t need to pretend like ‘oh my God this is so terrible what’s happened to us.’ We need to be defending the poor and disadvantaged and talking about their issues.

Whitlock continued on to say that while racism is still a problem in America, it is primarily an issue for the poor and something that James doesn’t have to worry about.

“LeBron James whether he likes it or not or whether people close to him are telling him or not, he has removed himself from the damages and ravages of real racism,” Whitlock said. "LeBron's comment about no matter how rich you are, no matter how famous you are it's tough being black in America. That is a lie. It's not tough being Oprah Winfrey, it's not tough being LeBron James."

Social media users were not pleased with Whitlock’s comments. Whitlock's name was a trending topic on Twitter throughout the United States on Thursday afternoon.

Whitlock responded to comments from irate viewers on Twitter as well.

In February, Whitlock stood against James’ Nike ad promoting equality saying that James was too elitist to address the issue.