NBA Player Jabari Parker Responds to Joe Walsh's ‘Watch Out Obama' Tweet

"You ain't landing a single finger on @BarackObama," the Milwaukee Bucks player and Chicago native tweeted

Critics on all sides of the political spectrum, including an NBA player from Chicago, have denounced former Illinois Congressman Joe Walsh after he sent a tweet including the phrase "Watch out Obama" following the shooting of multiple Dallas police officers Thursday night.

Milwaukee Bucks player Jabari Parker tweeted early Friday "@WalshFreedom You ain't landing a single finger on @BarackObama. No body is. Chicago and myself going to make sure of that."

In a tweet that has since been deleted, Walsh wrote "3 Dallas Cops killed, 7 wounded. This is now war. Watch out Obama. Watch out black lives matter punks. Real America is coming after you."

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Walsh later tweeted "I wasn't calling for violence, against Obama or anyone. Obama's words & BLM's deeds have gotten cops killed. Time for us to defend our cops." Parker responded directly to that tweet. 

21-year-old Parker was raised in Chicago's South Shore neighborhood, and attended Simeon Career Academy and Duke University before he was selected second overall by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2014 NBA Draft. 

After responding to Walsh, Parker then tweeted,"Im not a man of violence. I'm a man of God. I have faith that peace will happen. We have to take the higher road and allow God's will."

"The irony of people who say 'All lives matter', while they refuse to help out the matter at hand or feel sympathetic. Confusing I know," he added.

Walsh served one term in Illinois as the representative for the state's 8th District before being defeated by Rep. Tammy Duckworth in 2012. He went on to become the host of a conservative radio show on WIND-AM 560.

His comments following Thursday's shooting, in which authorities said a lone gunman killed five police officers and injured seven others, have drawn sharp criticism for what many saw as a threat to President Obama. 

"Joe Walsh needs to be arrested for threatening our President," singer John Legend tweeted.

Walsh told the Chicago Tribune that Twitter suspended his account, allowing him to reactivate it only if that tweet was removed. He said it was deleted without him taking any action, according to the Tribune. 

Several other tweets about the shooting remained on his account including, "BLM should be categorized as a hate group," and "Wake up silent majority."

"It's time 4 patriotic Americans to stand up & stand against all the Cop haters - from Obama to the thugs on the street," Walsh also shared. "It's way past time."

This isn't the first time the former tea party congressman has drawn controversy.

He infamously said in 2012 that then-Congressional opponent Duckworth, who lost both legs when her Black Hawk helicopter crashed in Iraq, wasn't a "true hero."

He made national headlines by saying “true heroes” don’t boast about their military records, as he accused Duckworth of doing. Duckworth won, with 55 percent of the vote.

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