Trump calls LeBron James a 'disgrace' over warmups during national anthem at Sixers opener

President Donald Trump on Thursday said Philadelphia 76ers forward LeBron James had disrespected the United States, after a video surfaced of James continuing his pregame routine as the anthem was performed before the team's first game of the season.

Posting the clip on Truth Social, Trump called for James to apologize to fallen American service members. "I said right from the beginning that he's no good, a TOTAL DISGRACE," Trump wrote, according to 6abc, the Philadelphia Inquirer, Billy Penn and FOX 29.

The footage came from Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden, where the Sixers opened against the New York Knicks. Billy Penn described James rotating his upper body and mimicking a foul shot, and said some other Sixers were also loosening up. According to 6abc, most teammates standing near James remained motionless.

Some social media users concluded James was practicing his golf form. The Inquirer pointed out that the movement resembled a lefty's swing, though James is right-handed. The Inquirer and Billy Penn both said ESPN had earlier posted video of James doing something similar during the anthem as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers.

6abc and FOX 29 reported that James had made no public reply to the president by Thursday.

Trump and James have traded jabs publicly over several years. According to Billy Penn and the Inquirer, Trump suggested in July, around when James joined Philadelphia, that the player might be racist, in answer to a question comparing him with Michael Jordan. Billy Penn reported that James backed Hillary Clinton in 2016 and later endorsed Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. 6abc noted that James insulted Trump on Twitter in 2017.

Trump has taken aim at other athletes' anthem behavior too, most prominently Colin Kaepernick, the former NFL quarterback. The outlets differ on timing: the Inquirer pointed to 2016, and Billy Penn to 2017.

Michael J. Hill, a Veterans of Foreign Wars commander and member of Philadelphia's Veterans Advisory Commission, objected to Trump's post. "I would remind President Trump that our military fights to protect and defend the freedom of all Americans, not just those he agrees with," Hill said, Billy Penn reported. Hill also raised compensation claims over polluted water at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune; Billy Penn said Trump had recently tied payment of those claims at a North Carolina rally to Republican success in the midterms.

Philadelphia won Tuesday's game 106-100 over the reigning champion Knicks. James, who 6abc said is 41 and playing a record 24th season, was set to debut at home Thursday night at Xfinity Mobile Arena against Cleveland, his first NBA club.

Compiled by True News from reporting by Billy Penn, 6abc Action News, The Philadelphia Inquirer and FOX 29 Philadelphia. Each outlet's original story is linked below.

Originally published by True News: https://truenews.bagleyenterprises.net/stories/359