LeBron James does not think the fans who were ejected in the fourth quarter of Monday’s game between the Atlanta Hawks and Los Angeles Lakers should have been tossed.
A few fans sitting courtside for the Lakers’ 107-99 victory at Atlanta were tossed after an altercation with James. The woman involved in the altercation, Juliana Carlos, defended herself in a video seen here.
She felt it was ridiculous to get ejected, and James seemed to agree. He also said he enjoys having fans back at games.
“I’m happy that fans are back in the building. I miss that interaction. I need that interaction. We as players need that interaction. I don’t think it was warranted to be kicked out. There was a back-and-forth between two grown men, and we said our piece. He said his piece, I said my piece. And then someone else jumped into it and said their piece,” James said after the game.
James believes the incident happening in front of the refs is what led to the ejection.
“I don’t think they should have been kicked out. But they might have had a couple of drinks maybe. I think the referees did what they had to do.
“I don’t want to say he went overboard,” James said of the fan, Chris Carlos, “but he went a little bit out of bounds. Too close for comfort to me. And I said my piece. And we could have moved on, but I think it was so close to the officials, and it kind of got blown out of proportion.”
James was also asked whether he felt the fans taking their masks off during the ejection posed a safety risk. He said he did not feel a risk as a player, but noted the fans nearby could have felt differently.
All in all, James enjoys having fans.
“I love our fans. Fans in the stands is just better, better for everybody.”
Lakers head coach Frank Vogel felt differently and believes it was inappropriate to have fans taking their masks off and shouting at players.
Frank Vogel on the 2nd half incident on the sideline in Atlanta:
"You obviously can’t have fans taking off their masks and shouting at our players during these times."
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) February 2, 2021
LeBron’s comments seem to mesh with what the woman said on Instagram. She felt the ejection was not deserved, and James didn’t either.
