LeBron James continues to have his superstar cemented, as his critics continue to scrutinize every detail of his being.
The Los Angeles Laker had a great pair of back-to-back days on Dec 9 and 10, as he became the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament Champion and MVP, while also getting to watch his oldest son Lebron “Bronny” James Jr. play his first collegiate game at the University of Southern California-Los Angeles.
This was a monumental moment for the James Gang as not only was Bronny returning to action after a sudden cardiac arrest that occurred during one of USC’s summer training camps, but he is also the first man in the James family to go to college.
While Bronny didn’t shine on the stat sheet, and the Trojans lost to the Long Beach State 49ers, James was still overcome with emotions after seeing his first child play. In an Instagram post, the 38-year-old told his son, “Proud of you kid and today you’ve given me more life! Thank you and I love you.”
At the same time James was praising his son for playing after his health scare, he was getting criticized for how and when he entered the arena. James, along with his mother Gloria, daughter Zhuri, and son Bryce, walked to their courtside seats at the same time the National Anthem was being sung.
LeBron James casually walks into the basketball arena while the National Anthem is playing and takes a seat.
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) December 13, 2023
Zero respect for the country that gave him the opportunity to be a basketball star.
Zero respect for the country that allowed him to become a billionaire.
Zero respect… pic.twitter.com/NaTmdeOabx
The crowd erupted as they saw the world-famous athlete, but they quickly quieted down as the singer continued the anthem. Once the James family got to their seats, they sat down. Nobody in attendance seemed to be upset, but the right-wing media had a field day with James’ “blatant disrespect” of America.
The future Hall of Famer sitting down was reported by conservative outlets like Fox News and Breitbart, and right-wing social media users said James had “zero respect,” and even called him a “piece of s—t.” The reporter who filmed James entering the venue fought back against the scrutiny as he said that James enters games at this time “so he doesn’t cause a massive stir,” and that he has been doing it for years.
More people came to James’ defense, saying, “Once again, trying to make mountains out of molehills Benny. He was getting walked in, getting his stuff together, so what. Good grief,” and “I’m no LeBron fan, but I don’t think there was any intentional disrespect. He was lead to a seat, sat down for 10 seconds, got back up. He looks preoccupied with something. Was it a bad look – yes, he should be standing. But this was not some kind of Kaepernick protest…”
I’m no LeBron fan, but I don’t think there was any intentional disrespect.
— Dr. Ranch Wood (@UVIL1991) December 13, 2023
He was lead to a seat, sat down for 10 seconds, got back up. He looks preoccupied with something.
Was it a bad look – yes, he should be standing. But this was not some kind of Kapernick protest or…
While this was not “some kind of Kaepernick protest or message” by James, he did follow in the former 49ers quarterback in 2020. After the NBA season was restarted in the NBA Bubble during the pandemic, players and coaches from the Lakers, Clippers, Pelicans and Jazz took a knee during the National Anthem to protest racial injustice. James later told reporters, “I hope we made Kaep proud.”
Earlier in that same year Jay-Z and Beyoncé drew ire from the right-wing media as they sat during the National Anthem when they were at the Super Bowl. Unlike James and the NBA’s protest, this didn’t make Kaepernick proud as he recalled that Hov had said that they were “past” kneeling on protest.
