“My glorious king has no gang affiliations” – LeBron James ‘wiping nose’ handshake tied with rapper Young Thug’s YSL gang in RICO trial at court

LeBron James and other popular athletes are known for performing the "wiping nose" celebration.

“My glorious king has no gang affiliations” – LeBron James ‘wiping nose’ handshake tied with rapper Young Thug’s YSL gang in RICO trial at court

LeBron James and YSL gang member. (Image via Open Source, X)

LeBron James‘ name recently came up in a situation most of his fans will be surprised by. The Lakers’ superstar often finds himself in the news, but that is generally due to his NBA exploits.

Amidst the RICO trial involving American rapper and singer Jeffery Lamar Williams, widely recognized as Young Thug, the court emphasized the name of Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James. The rapper faced charges linked to the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.

Georgia officials squarely accused the rapper of founding the criminal gang Young Slime Life, also known as YSL. Interestingly, this acronym coincides with his Young Stoner Life label. Originating in Atlanta in 2012, YSL allegedly claims affiliation with the national Bloods gang, as explicitly stated in the indictment. Furthermore, the group is purportedly engaging in a range of criminal activities, including but not limited to murders, shootings, carjackings, and thefts.

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In the ongoing YSL RICO trial, unexpected developments unfolded when co-founder Trontavious “Tick” Stephens, initially a defendant, opted for a plea deal to testify against Young Thug and other defendants. While on the witness stand, he faced questions about LeBron James’s potential ties to YSL, triggered by James occasionally employing the “wipe your nose” hand sign with teammates.

Prosecutors argue that the “wipe your nose” sign implies harm to rivals; conversely, defense attorney Brian Steel challenges this claim, emphasizing it as a common symbol in hip-hop culture, embraced by both artists and athletes.

Do you know other artists and actors and professional sports people who show gang signs? Or what you know to be gang signs? Have you seen sports figures, professional sports figures, basketball, football, baseball. Have you seen them go like this, wiping their nose on national TV?”

Steel proceeded to highlight a clip wherein James appeared to engage in the “Slime” gesture with Lakers teammate Max Christie.

Have you seen LeBron James do a video, put out a video, wiping [his] nose and saying ‘slime’ to his teammate?

Fans react to LeBron James being linked to YSL RICO case

The legal proceedings involving American rapper Young Thug weren’t devoid of drama, particularly when the name of Los Angeles superstar basketball player LeBron James surfaced. This happened in connection with a video showing him engaging in the alleged YSL gang sign of wiping the nose as a form of celebration.

LeBron James (Image via: San Diego Union-Tribune)
LeBron James (Image via: San Diego Union-Tribune)

This sparked a reaction from fans devoted to the superstar, prompting them to flock to social media, notably X, formerly known as Twitter, to voice their opinions. Here are a couple of fan reactions:

With both James and Young Thug’s popularity, the case is bound to receive a lot of media attention moving foward.

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