LeBron James Brushes Off Trump Criticizing His Disrespectful National Anthem Antics
Philadelphia 76ers star LeBron James brushed aside criticism from President Donald Trump over his movements during the national anthem at the team’s season opener, describing Trump’s remarks as a sign of a quiet news day.
Footage from this week’s game against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden showed James lined up with teammates while the national anthem played.
While most of his teammates stood motionless, James could be seen going through the motions of a golf swing and practicing jump shots.
The clip spread rapidly online.
LeBron doing ANYTHING to disrespect the National Anthem https://t.co/TczsaaxoLg
— House of Lowlights (@HouseLowlights) October 21, 2026
President Trump shared the video on Truth Social and wrote: “While listening to our National Anthem, LeBron James disrespects our Country! I said right from the beginning that he’s no good, a TOTAL DISGRACE. LeBron 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!”
After the 76ers’ home opener Thursday night, James offered a short reply, according to ESPN.
“It’s a slow news day at the office, you know,” he said. “Slow news day in the office.”
Sixers coach Nick Nurse defended James and labeled President Trump’s comments “outside noise.”
“I think that goes right in with other outside noise we’ve already had,” Nurse said.
“I keep saying the same thing. All I really care about is getting to the practice floor, getting them in the film room, getting them to the game floor. The focus that they’ve had and the intent and all the stuff like that has been outstanding.”
The anthem video drew widespread reaction on social media, including commentary from The Western Journal. Some users pointed to James’ long career and earnings in the United States, while others argued players should be free to move during the anthem.
LeBron James was born to a 16-year-old single mother in Akron, Ohio. He bounced between friends just to have a place to sleep. Then this country handed him everything.
It gave him over $500 million in NBA salary and over $1 billion more in endorsements and business deals. Forbes puts his net worth at $1.4 billion. He was the first active NBA player in history to become a billionaire.
And when the national anthem plays for the country that made all of that possible, he can’t give it two minutes of respect.
No hand over his heart. No standing still. He’s goofing around, flailing his arms, flapping around, pretending to shoot a basketball, doing literally anything except honoring the flag that turned a kid from Akron into a billionaire.
That’s not a protest. That’s not a statement. That’s just disrespect.
Millions of Americans work their whole lives and never see a fraction of what this country gave him. Men and women died so he could play a game for a living in front of sold-out arenas. The least he could do is stand there and act like it means something.
— Matt Wallace (@MattWallace888) October 21, 2026
“There is a 0% chance that LeBron James would do this during the Chinese national anthem.”
@ClayTravis isn’t holding back after video shows LeBron James appearing to practice his golf swing as the national anthem plays at Madison Square Garden.
Other players are standing for the anthem, but James appears to be going through a golf motion instead.
Travis calls the moment disrespectful and questions whether James would behave the same way overseas.
President Trump also weighed in on the NBA star’s antics: https://t.co/eNzeSkYYYT
— Fox News (@FoxNews) October 23, 2026
@NEWSMAX LeBron James did not intentionally set out to disrespect the national anthem, but rather was caught on camera stretching, swaying, and practicing a golf swing and free-throw motions to loosen up before the game.
— C.B (@chris20628) October 22, 2026
President Trump later brought up the clip at a campaign event in Iowa, describing the motions as a golf swing and calling James’ episode a notable story by asking, “What the hell is that? It’s a big scandal kind of a story.”
President Trump calls out LeBron James and WNBA teams over their actions surrounding the national anthem during his Iowa rally.
Trump criticizes WNBA teams for leaving the court before the anthem, warning that the league could hurt its growing popularity. He then turns to James, questioning video of the NBA star making golf-swing motions while the anthem plays.
“He’s practicing his golf swing!” Trump says, before questioning the controversy surrounding both incidents.
See what sparked the criticism of James: https://t.co/eNzeSkYYYT
— Fox News (@FoxNews) October 23, 2026
@RyanAFournier LeBron made over 1 Billion off of his talent and dedication lmaoo my humble opinion 😮💨 everything else is extreme exaggeration… so he was doing some jumping jacks during the national anthem big deal… everyone will have have their own way of viewing this.. completely fine
— Th3elit3on3 (@th3elit3on3) October 23, 2026
James, 41, joined the 76ers in the offseason on a two-year deal widely seen as his last contract.
The team opened the season 2-0.
The addition of James, who left the Los Angeles Lakers after eight seasons there, gave Philadelphia a veteran presence alongside younger core players.
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