In his final game as a 40-year-old, Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James turned heads with some ferocious dunks. But he also evoked the wrath of a contingent of patriotic fans for allegedly disrespecting the United States national anthem.
Per videos circulating on social media, James was caught practicing his golf swing when “The Star-Spangled Banner” played at Crypto.com Arena on Christmas Day, in the lead-up to the Lakers versus Houston Rockets matchup.
ESPN’s TikTok feed initially shared the clip on Christmas Day, but the video didn’t go viral until this week, when scores of fans got wind of James’ actions.
Did LeBron James Disrespect Anthem?
Notorious LeBron James hater Craig Carton led the charge against the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, ripping him to shreds on his podcast.
“If you want to disregard your coach, and disregard your teammates, and be an 11+1 type of guy, do it on your own time. Don’t do it during my national anthem,” Carton said, via Awful Announcing.
“He disrespects the national anthem. And while the anthem is being played, play it here guys. Your guy, the self-appointed king, decides that’s a good time for me to work on my golf swing and disrespect the men and women of the military who gave their lives for this country.
“Let me get a couple air swings in while the anthem is being played because I don’t play good basketball anymore, I got to work on my golf game,” Carton added.
LeBron James’ Newfound Love
The 41-year-old forward admittedly discovered his love for golf this past offseason after ignoring the sport for years, even as his peers urged him to take it up as a pastime.
James told Complex in an interview that he initially took up golf as a way to challenge himself, but he quickly fell in love with the sport.
“It’s hard as shit, that’s exactly why. I wanted a challenge, man, and I just like being uncomfortable,” James said of taking up golf, via LakersNation.
“There’s something that’s, it’s fun too. But it’s like golf is one of the few places where I can go, I don’t get bothered as much. I can go out on the green, me and my friends, we go out, we don’t get bothered.”
“The only time we get bothered is when we out there being shitty and the next group behind us is like, ‘Y’all need to hurry the f— up, Y’all need to hurry the f— up.’ For sure.”
James has been so “addicted” to golf content on YouTube that he hasn’t had time to watch much NBA this season. He admitted as much when asked to evaluate the growth of rising Utah Jazz star Keyonte George after the Lakers visited Salt Lake City recently.
“Oh, I’m the wrong guy to ask that question,” James said when asked about George’s All-Star prospects this season.,
“I watch YouTube golf these days, so I’m the wrong guy to ask. He played great tonight, and he played great last time we played him. He’s playing good ball versus us.”
(via kingjames/IG)
Lakers’ LeBron James – National Anthem Controversy Explained