NBA
LeBron James To Lose Blue Check, Refuses To Pay For Twitter Verification
James is a Basketball Insiders contributor. He earned his bachelor's degree in English and Creative Writing from Southern New Hampshire University. James enjoys watching sports and helping gamblers win money.
All posts by James FoglioUpdated03 Apr 2023
LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers is about to lose the blue verification check mark for his Twitter account after refusing to pay the $7.99 monthly fee. On Thursday, the 19-time All-Star tweeted: “Welp guess my blue [check mark] will be gone soon cause if you know me I ain’t paying the 5.”
In October 2022, Elon Musk bought the social media giant for $44 billion. In the following month, Twitter announced its new Twitter Blue subscription service. Anyone with a verified account — or wants one in the future for that matter — will have to pay the monthly fee.
Based on a couple of NBA betting sites, LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers have eighth-shortest odds to win the championship. A few sportsbooks are showing greater odds for the Memphis Grizzlies and Golden State Warriors.
Welp guess my blue ✔️ will be gone soon cause if you know me I ain’t paying the 5. 🤷🏾♂️
— LeBron James (@KingJames) March 31, 2023
LeBron James first joined Twitter in March 2009. The flagship verification feature was first launched the same year and has been free for everyone until now. Musk’s goal is to reduce spam posts, impersonations, and business scams across the site. But this is still a work in progress.
Last year, users created fake, verified Twitter Blue accounts to impersonate James, MLB pitcher Aroldis Chapman, and NHL center Connor McDavid. All three accounts were later suspended. So, it sure seems like the social media site is attempting to fix something that’s broken, and in the process, is actually making it worse.
Lakers superstar LeBron James is prepared to lose blue check for Twitter account, refuses to pay $7.99 per month for verification
Moreover, anyone who has a Twitter account, an iOS device, and/or an Apple ID can sign up for the Twitter Blue subscription service. It is not currently available on the web or Android devices. During the sign-up process, the user must agree to an automatic payment of $7.99 per month.
When users click on the check mark, the old message read “This account is verified because it’s notable in government, news, entertainment, or another designed category.” The message was then changed to “Legacy Verified. Could be notable but could also be bogus.” Now, it reads “This is a legacy verified account. It may or may not be notable.”
We are changing the text to say “Legacy Verified. Could be notable, but could also be bogus.”
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 10, 2022
LeBron James, 38, has 52.8 million followers on Twitter and 186 following. Through 49 appearances and 48 starts this season, the Lakers forward is averaging 29.2 points, 8.4 rebounds, 6.8 assists, and 35.8 minutes per game. The 20-year veteran is also shooting 50.2% from the field and 30.6% outside the arc.
In the Lakers’ 140-132 win over the Houston Rockets on Jan. 16, the four-time NBA champ scored a season-high 48 points in 36 minutes of action. Along with notching eight boards and nine assists, LeBron James shot 16-of-26 (61.5%) from the floor and drained five 3-pointers.
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