Who are you choosing in this match-up, the 17-time NBA All-Star with four championship rings, or a tasteless rich kid hoping to follow in the footsteps of a twice-impeached one-term president?
The smart money, obviously, is on LeBron James, who on Saturday found himself the recipient of namecalling from full-time blowhard Donald Trump Jr., the 43-year-old son of former frozen steak salesman Donald Trump. The L.A. Lakers star forward presumably has other things to do than engage with Trump Jr. calling him a “bitch” on Instagram. But James’ many fans have been eager to jump to his defense.
Let’s hit instant replay on all this, in case you are coming in late. The skirmish began earlier in the week when James had two fans ejected from their courtside seats at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis during a tense overtime.
James later alleged that the two fans were making obscene gestures and statements. “There’s a difference [between] cheering for your team and not wanting the other team to win and things I would never say to a fan and they shouldn’t say to me,” the star athlete told reporters. (Unsubstantiated reports of what the two said abound online. None of them are pleasant.)
While there is certainly a nuanced discussion to be had about spectator heckling and how a superstar like James should respond, you will find not find this discourse from Trump Jr.
The “author” of such insightful tomes as Triggered: How the Left Thrives on Hate and Wants to Silence Us took to his social media channels on Saturday to ask: “Is there a bigger bitch in pro sports than LaSnitch?” He limited comments on the post (thus featuring mostly cheers from his acolytes).
He followed up by uploading an image from an outfit called @grandoldmemes that showed James with “Karen” hair. His caption read, “LaKaren wants to speak to the manager!!!” He also came up with the witticism, “LaFlop James.” At no point did he double-check how “LeBron” is actually spelled.
Former NBA star and current social media champ Rex Chapman was among the first to suggest that it might be best for Trump Jr. not to engage with James.
Sports and culture writer Jemele Hill opined that if the two ever met, Trump would merely ask for an autograph.
Many others online took the opportunity to make comments about Trump Jr.’s character and speculate about his habits, some of which we can include here as examples of public opinion.
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