Four courtside fans were ejected last night from Monday’s game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Atlanta Hawks following a verbal spat with Lakers star LeBron James. Juliana Carlos and Chris Carlos were the two notable figures kicked out, and Mrs. Carlos took to social media to explain their side.
“So, I’m minding my own business, and Chris has been a Hawks fan forever. He’s been watching the games for 10 years. Whatever, he has this issue with LeBron. I don’t have an issue with LeBron. I don’t give a f— about LeBron,” she says in the video. “Anyway, I’m minding my own business, drinking my [beverage], having fun. All of the sudden, LeBron says something to my husband, and I see this and I stand up. And I go, ‘Don’t f—ing talk to my husband.’ And he looks at me and he goes, ‘Sit the f— down, b—-.’ And I go, ‘Don’t f—ing call me a b—-. You sit the f— down. Get the f— out of here. Don’t f—ing talk to my husband like that.'”
LeBron responded in a way that makes you think he probably wasn’t completely innocent in the whole thing, as he said that he didn’t think they should’ve been kicked out. Before finally referencing the absence of a mask and safety, the referees stopped the game and removed the group of hecklers.
“At the end of the day, I’m happy fans are back in the building,” he said after putting up 21 points, 9 assists and 7 rebounds to help L.A. to the road win. “I miss that interaction. I need that interaction; we as players need that interaction. I don’t feel like it was warranted to be kicked out.”
The internet has now officially dubbed Mrs. Carlos as Karen, which is a nickname given to entitled white women. I have to say that I love LeBron, and if I were at the Hawks game, I would also be talking smack. The rules are the rules, though, and to attend a game at State Farm Arena, you must always be wearing your mask.
Don’t give them a reason to kick you out, and you won’t have any problems. NBA players are people too and deserve respect, but friendly back-and-forth banter is what makes fans at sporting events so great. Creative insults never go out of style. However, if you’re just blatantly being disrespectful without any comical tone, then you deserve whatever you get.
Players can talk to fans how they want; fans can talk to players how they want, but there should always be a mutually found respect between the two as they both need each other for the league to thrive. LeBron knows that, too. Without fans, the NBA would be nothing, but in the same breath, without players, it would be nothing too. There is and will always be a delicate balance between players and courtside fans.
“I love our fans,” James reiterated. “Laker Nation and everybody else that’s against Laker Nation. It just feels better. Fans in the stands is just — it’s just better. It’s better for everybody — especially on the last game of a 14-day road trip.”
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