LeBron James will have a lot of eyes set on him during the Paris Olympics. Wasn’t that an obvious statement? It’s not only because of his global on-court popularity but there’s another controversial reason why many will watch the Akron Hammer. Especially the people back home. Back in 2020, James irked a set of negative reactions when taking a knee during the American national anthem at the NBA Finals. While he missed the 2020 Japan Olympics, recovering from an injury, the only question is, will he take the knee again in Paris?

On one hand, King James had the ultimate honor of being the first male basketball player to be nominated as Team USA’s flag bearer. And, on the other hand, the superstar has been slammed and called “disgraceful” for his actions during the national anthem. It became a topic of discussion right after College swimming star Riley Gaines put out a polarizing post on her X handle.

Gaines shared a picture of LeBron James taking a knee and locking his arms with his Lakers teammates during the national anthem at the NBA Finals. They all wore a t-shirt that read, Black Lives Matter. The post also had a strong opinion against the vet. It read, “THIS is who was chosen as the U.S. flag bearer for the opening ceremony of the Olympics. Anyone who has ever knelt for the national anthem should be disqualified from this honor.” Nevertheless, James held the flag high at the opening ceremony parade and went viral on social media.

Now, the only question that revolves around the sports nation is, will LeBron James kneel for the national anthem again? While there’s no definitive answer to the question, a report from Fox Sports revealed that the superstar hasn’t kneeled since 2020. Even then, he continuously faced criticism for this gesture. Notably, former POTUS Donald Trump considered the act “disgraceful” and found the game unwatchable.

Has LeBron James responded to all the criticism surrounding his disrespect to the nation?

The superstar has responded to the callouts multiple times in the past. Especially after Donald Trump’s reaction, James made a strong remark. He said, “I really don’t think the basketball community are sad about losing his viewership. Our game is in a beautiful position and we have fans all over the world.” 

Moreover, speaking after the 2020 Finals game, he added, “We are dealing with a lot of racism, a lot of social injustice, a lot of police brutality, not only in my neighborhoods, not only with Black people but with people of color, and it’s something that we want to continue to have people’s ears open to.” 

Importantly, LeBron James gave up his liking for the Dallas Cowboys team because of the management’s stance on the BLM movement. Speaking in a live stream, he said, “I had to sit put on the Cowboys man. There’s lot of things going on when guy were kneeling, guys’ having freedom of speech, doing in a peaceful manner. Lot of people in the front office and lot of people that ran the organization was like ‘If you do that around here, you’ll never play for his franchise again’. I just didn’t think it was appropriate.” 

Even after the superstar made himself clear about his “peaceful” ways of dissent, he was still targeted. Before the Olympics, this matter was last talked about in December 2023. The veteran faced a punch of rage comments after his appearance at Bronny’s first collegiate game, after the daunting cardiac arrest in the summer. The Laker was filmed walking into the arena with Bryce and his teammates while the national anthem was playing.

People in the arena also noticed that Bron immediately sat down, as he reached his seat and also did not remove his cap. He was brutally criticized for having no respect before reporter Luca Evans put things into perspective. He clarified that these allegations “mischaracterize” King James and the 39-year-old has been doing it for years so he doesn’t cause the crowd to roar in the arena.

What do you make of this controversy that LeBron James has found himself in? Let us know in the comments below.