SUMMARY
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Despite having limited fans in the arena due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James got into an altercation with a couple of hecklers in the Lakers’ 107-99 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Monday, February 1 (Tuesday, February 2, Manila time.)
With only 8 minutes remaining in the ball game and the Lakers up by 8 at 86-78, the game had to be stopped as a woman from courtside was seen exchanging words with the four-time league MVP James.
After the game, James could not help but call the angry heckler out on Twitter, saying ‘Courtside Karen was MAD MAD,’ followed by laughing emojis.
James, however, was not bothered by the incident and admitted that he is happy that fans are back in the stands.
“At the end of the day, I’m happy fans are back in the building,” said James, who finished the game with 21 points, 7 rebounds and 9 assists.
“I miss that interaction. I need that interaction, we as players need that interaction,” he added.
Later on, James revealed that he had an argument with the woman’s husband, who he felt went a little bit ‘out of bounds’, but James believes that they should not have been ejected from the game.
“I don’t feel like it was warranted to be kicked out. There was a back-and-forth between two grown men. We said our piece, he said his piece, I said my piece, and then someone else jumped into it and said her piece,” said James.
“I didn’t think they should’ve been kicked out, but they might have had a couple of drinks maybe… so the referees did what they had to do,” he added.
James, though, felt that the woman, who was seen shouting with her mask pulled down, could have potentially harmed the people right next to her, including the referees.
“I don’t think taking [off] the mask or whatever the case may be at that point in time would harm anybody but the people that was right next to her,” said James.
“I wasn’t close enough to her, I don’t think my teammates were close enough to her, (but) maybe a couple of referees maybe so I hope they’re okay. You know, safety first,” he added.
Lakers coach Frank Vogel was also less than pleased with the fiery exchange after watching the videos on social media showing the woman with her mask hanging off her chin during the row.
“It certainly exposed something with regard to having fans in the pandemic,” Vogel said. “You obviously can’t have fans taking their masks down and shouting at our players with the virus out there during these times.”
James and the Lakers will get a much-needed two-day break after a long 14-day road trip and will return to action on Friday, February 5, Manila time, back at Staples Center against the Denver Nuggets. – with reports from Reuters/Rappler.com
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