Be careful what you wish for.
In the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic, prior to the NBA shut itself off completely and took an extended hiatus due to safety concerns, the NBA sent a memo to each team warning them of the possibility of banning fans from continuing to attend games.
LeBron James, the undisputed face of the competition, tried not to hear that shit, though.
‘We play games without the fans? No, it’s impossible, ”he sneered during a post-game interview. ‘I do not play. If I don’t have the fans in the crowd, that’s who I’m playing for. I play for my teammates. I play for the fans. That’s what it’s all about. If I come to an arena and there are no fans, I don’t play. They can do whatever they want. “
In time after that, LeBron would eventually do that withdraw that statement and collect his fourth Larry O’Brien trophy along the way – with no fans present. But as the world learns to adjust to this new normal, fans have slowly reintegrated into the NBA experience we all know and love.
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As it stands, only a handful of teams allow fans with reduced capacity based on local coronavirus guidelines. Los Angeles isn’t on that list – I know this because I’m two blocks from Staples Center – but one of them, of course, is Atlanta (the mythical land where nightclubs, day parties and within Zumba classes are still a thing, despite the looming threat of COVID-19).
On Monday night, as the Lakers and Hawks went to war at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, LeBron finally got his wish to play in front of fans and got a select few fans their finally wants to personally participate in NBA action. You would think that after months of watching the Hawks stink from home, people like Juliana Carlos would be happy to just be in the building. But no! Since some of you missed the Proper Decorum 101 chapter of your puberty – if you enter people’s fridges without permission, that includes you, by the way – this happened:
The woman in question – whom LeBron would later call ‘Courtside Karen’ – is Carlos, one of four people thrown out of the arena for a heated argument with King James. And for those who wondered what that “heated exchange” consisted of, Would you shut up the bastard already? Barbie was kind enough to jump on Instagram and tell everyone herself.
You may realize that barking “Fuck you, LeBron! You are a fucking pussy! was bad for her Botox, Carlos came to his senses on Tuesday and offered some sort of apology.
However, LeBron appears to be completely unfazed by the entire ordeal.
“I’m glad the fans are back in the building,” he told reporters. “I miss that interaction. We as players need that interaction. “
Add: ‘There was back and forth between two grown men. We said our piece. He said his piece, I said my piece. Then someone else jumped in and said their piece. I didn’t think they should have been thrown out. But they may have had a few drinks […] The referees did what they had to do. “
Not exactly the best way to start Black History Month, but at least we still have it the 2nd Annual Blackest Awards.