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President Donald Trump hurled more insults at Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James and the NBA during a rally in Pennsylvania on Monday on the eve of the election.
The President brought up the NBA’s down ratings during the playoffs and said he got bored watching the game. He also took a shot at the league’s attempt to speak out on social justice, with players kneeling before games and wearing messages on their jerseys.
“How about basketball?” Trump said. “How about LeBron? I felt badly for LeBron, very badly. Down 71 percent and that’s with the championship. I didn’t watch one shot. I get bored. Back, forth, back, forth. You know why? When they don’t respect our country, when they don’t respect our flag, nobody wants to watch.
“And the NFL is down,” Trump added. “The NFL is way down. You gotta stand for our flag. You gotta really be great to our flag and to our anthem and if you don’t do that, we’re not watching.”
The crowd soon began chanting “LeBron James sucks,” which you can hear in the video below. James led the Lakers to their 17th NBA championship during the COVID-condensed season inside a bubble in Orlando.
More than a few NBAers weighed in, including Cavaliers big man Larry Nance Jr.
“Clown convention,” he wrote on Twitter.
Actress Christina Applegate also game to James’ defense, writing: “He’s s—— on Lebron James? I love how he does a lame basketball thing with his hands after Obama did a shot from half court. Ok buddy. It’s on!”
Trump previously called James a “spokesman for the Democratic party. A very nasty spokesman.”
LeBron James Has Been Critical of Donald Trump
James has clashed with Trump previously, famously calling him a “bum” when the President called out his rival Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors.
James also posted a picture of Trump with a clown emoji on his face during the debates, urging people to go vote.
James has been a force for change in many ways off the basketball court. Most notably, he helped create “More Than a Vote,” a nonprofit organization devoted to supporting Black voters, and opened the “I Promise School,” a public school in his native Akron, Ohio, for at-risk students.
Analyst Have Blasted LeBron James for Speaking on Issues
James speaking out on important and sometimes political issues has been contentious in many ways, with some analyst arguing that he’s hurting not just his brand, but the NBA’s.
“LeBron to me has damaged his legacy with all the politics. When you are the biggest star in sports, and you are trying to say you’re on the same level as Michael Jordan, your primary responsibility is to grow the popularity of the game, and he hasn’t done that,” analyst Jason Whitlock said earlier this month on Outkick the Coverage. “He’s become a polarizing figure, he’s become a political figure, and he’s exposed himself as not very sophisticated.
“Last week I wrote that he’s the ‘Black Donald Trump’, and the comparison is really more of an insult to Trump than it is to LeBron. If I’m Trump, I don’t want to be compared to LeBron. LeBron is crude, crass, and unsophisticated, and all of the things that he allegedly dislikes about the President are actually true about him. He’s run off a significant segment of basketball fans. It’s just not a good look for his legacy, and if I were ESPN, TNT, and advertisers that are tied to the NBA I would be very concerned.”
James remains one of the most powerful and influential athletes on the planet and will only add to his legacy — which includes four NBA championships, four MVPs and 16 All-Star selections.
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