Matt Eppers, USA TODAY, December 22, 2018

LeBron James offered a scathing assessment of NFL team owners on the latest episode of “The Shop,” saying the league is run by “old white men” with a “slave mentality” towards players.

In the new episode that aired Friday night on HBO, James spoke with business partner Maverick Carter, Los Angeles Rams star Todd Gurley and actor/rapper Ice Cube about NFL player protests over social injustice.

After Gurley called it “a touchy subject,” James criticized NFL owners for wanting to exert “control.” James went on to praise NBA Commissioner Adam Silver for his support of players speaking out in favor of social causes.

“In the NFL, they got a bunch of old white men owning teams and they got that slave mentality,” James said. “And it’s like, ‘This is my team. You do what the (expletive) I tell y’all to do. Or we get rid of y’all.’ ”

“I’m so appreciative in our league of our commissioner” James added. “He doesn’t mind us having .. a real feeling and be able to express that. It doesn’t even matter if Adam agrees with what we are saying, he at least wants to hear us out. And as long as we are doing it in a very educational, non-violent way, then he’s absolutely OK with it.”

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That NBA players have not faced any sort of repercussions from the league highlights the stark difference in the NFL.

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