US President Donald Trump criticized NBA superstar LeBron James on Thursday, accusing him of disrespecting the national anthem.
Trump shared a video showing James making warm-up motions while standing with his Philadelphia 76ers teammates before their season opener against the New York Knicks on Tuesday.
In a post on his Truth Social network, Trump wrote, “While listening to our National Anthem, LeBron James disrespects our Country! I said right from the beginning that he’s no good, a TOTAL DISGRACE.” He added that James should apologize “to all of those Great American Warriors and Heroes who died for the American Flag, and all that our Country stands for!”
The video Trump posted was captioned internally, “LeBron working on his golf swing pregame,” and showed James making lateral swing and shooting motions.
Speaking later at a campaign rally in Iowa, Trump escalated his criticism, calling James’s actions “a big scandal kind of a story.”
Trump and James have clashed publicly in the past. The NBA’s all-time leading scorer appeared unfazed by the president’s remarks, responding after the Sixers’ 114-106 comeback win over the Cleveland Cavaliers: “It must be a slow news day at the office. Slow news day at the office.”
James, 41, is beginning his record 24th NBA season with his fourth different team. Sixers coach Nick Nurse downplayed Trump’s comments, telling reporters, “That goes right in with other outside noise we’ve already had. I keep saying the same thing. All I really care about is getting to the practice floor, getting them in the film room, getting them to the game floor. The focus that they’ve had and the intent and all the stuff like that has been outstanding.”
Trump has frequently criticized athletes—particularly Black athletes—for their actions during the national anthem. During his first term, he notably condemned NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick for kneeling during the “Star-Spangled Banner” to protest racial injustice and police brutality.
(With reporting from AFP)
