LeBron James faces scrutiny for entering USC arena while national anthem plays, sitting down as song plays

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James faced criticism on Tuesday for how he entered the Galen Center to watch his son, Bronny, play in his first collegiate game following his cardiac arrest of the summer.

Orange County Register reporter Luca Evans posted the video on X of James walking into the arena with his younger son Bryce and two of his Sierra Canyon High School teammates. The video showed James enter the arena while the national anthem was playing.

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LeBron James finds his seat prior to the game between the USC Trojans and the Long Beach State 49ers at Galen Center on December 10, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images)

X users noticed that James immediately sat in his chair as “The Star-Spangled Banner” blared on the speakers and failed to remove his hat — which is customary to do during the national anthem. He stands toward the end of the video.

He was immediately criticized for allegedly having “zero respect” for the U.S. as well as hating the country because he didn’t stand for the anthem.

As the video got picked up, Evans pushed back on the criticism.

“As the reporter who took this video, this is gross and completely mischaracterizes the situation,” he wrote on X. “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.”

Lebron James cheers as a fan captures a photo during the college basketball game between the Long Beach State 49ers and the USC Trojans on December 10, 2023 at Galen Center in Los Angeles, CA.  (Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

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James and other NBA players famously knelt during the national anthem in 2020 and wore shirts that read “Black Lives Matter” in protest of the police-involved shooting of Jacob Blake. The NBA played games in the bubble and the Blake shooting coupled with the death of George Floyd was on players’ minds during that summer.

The Lakers star at the time said he hoped they made Colin Kaepernick “proud.”

“Kap was someone who stood up when times weren’t comfortable. When people didn’t understand, when people refused to listen to what he was saying,” he said at the time. “You go back and look at any of his postgame interviews when he was talking about why he was kneeling — it had absolutely nothing to do about the flag, he had absolutely nothing to do about soldiers.”

LeBron James #23 and Anthony Davis #3 of the Los Angeles Lakers in a Black Lives Matter Shirt kneel with their teammates during the national anthem prior to the game against the LA Clippers at The Arena at ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex on July 30, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. (Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

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By all accounts, James hasn’t knelt during the national anthem since 2020.

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