LeBron, family, friends came to watch USC-Long Beach State Sunday
Bronny James, the oldest son of NBA superstar LeBron James, made his debut with the USC Trojans men’s basketball team Sunday night against Long Beach State. He sustained sudden cardiac arrest in July during a workout but returned to the court and had a solid stat line off the bench: four points, three rebounds, two assists, two steals, and a block in 17 minutes of action.
The Trojans ended up losing to Long Beach State 84-79 in overtime but one of the bigger stories from the game is the backlash from when LeBron and two other James children entered the Galen Center.
LeBron, Zhrui, and Bryce James walked to their seats during the national anthem.
LeBron James makes his entrance at the Galen Center for Bronny James’ debut during the national anthem, holding daughter Zhuri’s hand. Accompanied by Bryce James and two of his Sierra Canyon teammates, Bryce Cofield and Jayden Alexander. pic.twitter.com/tN0iSMhkJA
— Luca Evans (@bylucaevans) December 10, 2023
Entering during the anthem drew criticism on X, formerly known as Twitter, towards LeBron.
LeBron James casually walks into the basketball arena while the National Anthem is playing and takes a seat.
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
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) December 13, 2023
LeBron James just completely disrespects America, sits down during the national anthem. pic.twitter.com/RwQrIu3d91
— Libby Emmons (@libbyemmons) December 13, 2023
Lebron James disrespected the National Anthem. pic.twitter.com/FW8kk0Juv7
— Terrence K. Williams (@w_terrence) December 13, 2023
Orange County Register reporter Luca Evans, who took the original video, responded to the criticism and added that this is the same time LeBron walked to seats for games when Bronny was in high school.
As the reporter who took this video, this is gross and completely mischaracterizes the situation. LeBron has done this for YEARS in Bronny’s time at Sierra Canyon. It’s objectively the best time to walk in so he doesn’t cause a massive stir. Stop it. https://t.co/Dp86xxKKfL
— Luca Evans (@bylucaevans) December 13, 2023
LeBron James has played in 1,444 NBA games.
The average length of time to sing the National Anthem is 1 minute, 40 seconds.
LeBron has stood for the Anthem for ~1.67 days of his life.
And you’re going to whine about this? https://t.co/OVjggu9YZM
— Brendan Rourke (@B_RourkeSports) December 13, 2023
“I think the most important thing, who cares about the win or the loss, the kid was standing tall and standing strong at the end of the game,” LeBron said after the game about his son’s performance. “That is a blessing in its own right, and that is a win. He’s won at life, and everything else at this point is extra credit.”
