Trump calls LeBron James 'a total disgrace' over anthem warm-ups

US President Donald Trump accused LeBron James on Thursday of disrespecting the United States, saying the NBA star appeared to continue his warm-ups while the national anthem was performed before Philadelphia's season opener on Tuesday.

In a social media post sharing video of the moment, Trump wrote: "I said right from the beginning that he's no good, a TOTAL DISGRACE." He added that James "should apologize to all of those Great American Warriors and Heroes who died for the American Flag, and all that our Country stands for!"

Footage from Tuesday's game in New York showed James practising a golf swing and a jump shot as The Star-Spangled Banner was played. James, starting his first season with Philadelphia, was lined up alongside teammates who mostly stood still during the anthem.

As of Thursday evening, James had not made a public comment or a social media post about Trump's criticism. The 41-year-old, in his record 24th NBA season, was set to make his home debut for the Sixers on Thursday night against Cleveland.

A long-running back and forth

The two men have been critical of each other for years, occasionally trading public swipes.

In 2017, while with Cleveland, James made a statement during a game with his shoes — one black, one white, each carrying the word "equality" in capital gold letters on the back. Afterwards he said of Trump: "This is a beautiful country and we're never going to let one person dictate how beautiful and how powerful we are."

James also called Trump "a bum" on Twitter, and earlier that season said the president "doesn't understand how many kids, no matter the race, look up to the president of the United States for guidance, for leadership, for words of encouragement. He doesn't understand that, and that's what makes me more sick than anything."

Speaking out beyond basketball

James showed determination to speak on social issues after Fox News host Laura Ingraham criticised the four-time NBA champion over his 2018 comments on social issues. "We will definitely not shut up and dribble," James said. "I will definitely not do that. I mean too much to society. I mean too much to the youth."

He referenced Muhammad Ali, Jim Brown, Bill Russell and Jackie Robinson as athletes who previously spoke up for equality and change without concern for consequences or rewards. "We know it's bigger than us," James said.

James was named The Associated Press's Male Athlete of the Year in 2020, in large part for leading the Los Angeles Lakers to a championship and, at the peak of the Black Lives Matter movement, helping convince many people who had never voted to head to the polls.

AC Milan striker and former LA Galaxy star Zlatan Ibrahimovic criticised socially conscious athletes in a 2021 interview, calling it "a mistake" for James and others to get involved in political causes. James rejected the criticism: "I would never shut up about things that are wrong."

Source: Al Jazeera.