Former UFC star Chael Sonnen stirred up a storm of controversy when he weighed in on the cardiac arrest suffered by Bronny James, the son of NBA megastar LeBron James. Bronny James had the incident during practice at USC on Monday, July 24, 2023.
Taking to his official Twitter account, Sonnen insinuated that the young basketball player might have been using EPO. It is a banned PED which could have potentially caused the health complication. In his tweet, Sonnen warned about the dangers of improper EPO use and its link to cardiac arrest.
Although he did not take any names, Sonnen tweeted: “If you do not properly monitor, your EPO use you can experience cardiac arrest and die in your sleep. If you do not properly monitor your EPO use, and you go into cardiac arrest in front of other people there is a good chance somebody will get you help in time and you will survive. If you monitor your EPO use, but you combine it with testosterone you have a whole other set of problems in front of you. Hoping we can chalk this up to ‘lesson learned.'”
Chael Sonnen’s tweet garnered mixed reactions online. Many Twitter users criticized the MMA personality for what they perceived as an insensitive opinion. This was because he was leveling serious EPO use allegations against an 18-year-old sportsperson who had just experienced a near-death situation.
Some fans even sarcastically questioned Sonnen’s medical credentials:
“Dr. Sonnen, should I be cycling on and off on my 75mg vitamin C dosage? Two weeks on and two weeks off? I don’t want to become too jacked.”
In reaction to the claims Sonnen has made both against LeBron James and now his son, one fan suggested that LeBron James may face Chael Sonnen in the UFC octagon:
“lebron boutta come see u in the octagon”
On the other hand, there were some fans who seemed to agree with Sonnen’s perspective. They pointed out that it does seem peculiar for a fit and young athlete like Bronny James to suffer from a cardiac arrest. Some fans also speculated about the potential consequences of Sonnen’s tweet, including the possibility of it affecting his career as a UFC analyst.
Bronny James is the son of NBA superstar LeBron James and Savannah James. The American college basketball player has been predicted to play in the NBA.
Bronny James had a heart attack during a USC practise. He soon received prompt medical attention and was brought into the ICU after being transported to the hospital.
Thankfully, Bronny James has been recovering well and is now out of the ICU. He is reportedly in stable condition.
LeBron James and Savannah James released a statement through a family spokesperson, expressing their gratitude to the medical staff for their prompt response and care.
As reported by ESPN, an excerpt from the James family’s statement read: “He is now in stable condition and no longer in ICU. We ask for respect and privacy for the James family and we will update media when there is more information.”