LeBron James responded on Wednesday to President Donald Trump’s claim that he won’t watch the NBA due to players kneeling for the national anthem.
James’ Los Angeles Lakers lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder 105-86. After the game, James was asked about Trump’s comments about the NBA. James said he didn’t think the basketball community would be sad to lose Trump’s viewership.
LeBron James on Donald Trump saying he won’t watch any more NBA games because people have kneeled to protest systemic racism during the national anthem: “I really don’t think the basketball community are sad about losing his viewership.” pic.twitter.com/l9sP7LiFsi
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) August 6, 2020
“I really don’t think the basketball community are sad about losing his viewership,” James said.
Earlier in the day, Trump appeared on “Fox and Friends” for a phone interview and shared his thoughts.
“When I see people kneeling during the playing and disrespecting our flag and national anthem, what I do personally is turn off the game,” Trump said.
“I think it’s disgraceful. We work with (the NBA), we worked with them very hard trying to get open. I was pushing for them to get open. Then I see everybody kneeling during the anthem. That’s not acceptable to me. When I see them kneeling during the game, I just turn off the game. I have no interest in the game. Let me tell you this, plenty of other people out there, too.”
Trump also credited himself for helping the black community with “criminal justice reform, opportunity zones, best employment numbers in history.”
James and Trump have clashed for years, going back to when LeBron supported Hillary Clinton during the last presidential election. The two have sparred many times since then, with James taking shots at Trump and vice versa. The saga between them continues.
