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US President Donald Trump has said that basketball star LeBron James disrespected the United States by not remaining silent during the national anthem.
James, who now plays for the Philadelphia 76ers, appeared to be practicing a golf swing and basketball shots as the anthem was performed before the season opener against the New York Knicks on Wednesday.
“While listening to our national anthem, LeBron James disrespects our country!” Trump posted on social media. “LeBron James should apologize to all the great American warriors and heroes who died for the American flag.”
James did not respond to the president’s latest comments, but the pair have criticized each other in the past.
James can be seen in a video doing the motion of a golf swing as a performer sings the Star-Spangled Banner at New York’s Madison Square Garden.
His teammates, who are lined up next to him on the field, mostly remain standing with minimal movement.
“I said right from the start he’s no good, a TOTAL DISGRACE,” Trump added, referring to James.
The US anthem is played on tape or played at the start of most professional sports games. Players and spectators are expected to stand if they can and not move. Some people sing along.
This tradition has become a political flashpoint in the last 10 years. In 2016, former American football player Colin Kaepernick sat and later knelt on one knee during the national anthem, as a demonstration against police brutality and racism in the United States.
Trump sharply criticized Kaepernick and later took credit when the athlete couldn’t find a team to play for. Years later, he softened his stance, saying Kaepernick should “get another shot” to play in the NFL.
The president’s criticism also speaks of his long-standing feud with the popular player, who has publicly supported or campaigned for Trump’s political opponents since the 2016 presidential election.
In 2018, Trump suggested that James was not an intelligent man after the athlete said that he would “never sit across from him”.
That same year, James said that Trump had given racists “an opportunity to go out without fear and be without fear.”
He also suggested that Trump’s rhetoric led to a mob that stormed the US Capitol in 2021 to stop the certification of the result of the 2020 election, which former President Joe Biden won. James endorsed Biden.
In July, when asked to choose between James and Michael Jordan as the greatest basketball player of all time in history, Trump said he preferred Jordan and suggested that James, who is black, might be “a racist.”
“I only love people who love me,” Trump said.
