LeBron James called attention to a young boy who threw an object at LeBron’s son Bronny during a youth basketball tournament on Monday, and the child who was responsible has issued an apology.
In a video he posted on YouTube , the young Los Angeles Lakers fan apologized to Bronny and the James family for what he did. He showed off some of his Lakers and LeBron gear and said in the description of the video that he was “just trying to get Bronnys attention (and) didn’t want to hurt anyone.” The boy admitted he threw an orange peel at Bronny when the younger James was going to inbound the ball, and the child said his mother actually made him leave the game even after security was unable to identify who threw the item.
Here’s the full description that accompanied the video:
“I’m sorry @james family for what I did , I’m a huge fan and I was just trying to get bronnys attention I didn’t want to hurt anyone, I was actually there at Springfield college during hoophall I’m not lying or trying to “get clout “ I was in the front area seats the people around me were not my parents my parents were sitting a couple seats away because I wanted to sit closer , I was calling out bronnys name and just wanted him to see me the security never threw me out they never knew it was me but my mom still took me home we knew I was wrong and it not a good thing to do , believe me or not I want to send out an apology to bronny because me and my family discussed it and knew it was the right thing to do.”
LeBron called the boy out on Twitter on and said “hating has no age limit.” James also made it clear after the Lakers’ loss to the Boston Celtics on Monday night that he thought the act was “disrespectful” regardless of the child’s age.
“It’s just disrespectful, and it was a little kid too. I don’t know how old that little kid was, so I don’t know if he learned that on his own or if he learned it at home,” LeBron told reporters, according to ESPN’s Jeff Borzello. “Whatever the case may be, it’s disrespectful. I wonder how old that kid is, if he is the age around Bronny’s age [15] or [James’ son] Bryce’s age [12]. I’d like to see them try that while they’re paying attention.”
We’re talking about a young child here that doesn’t look like he could be any older than 10. Had an adult thrown something at Bronny, you could understand LeBron being so upset. We know how animated LeBron can be when supporting his family, but a global icon trying to hold a child accountable for a childish act seems like a bit much. Kudos to the kid and his parents for the apology in a situation where a lesson was obviously learned.
More must-reads: