Four court fans – at least one of whom did not cover his face with a mask – were expelled from Monday’s game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Atlanta Hawks following a verbal spit with Lakers star LeBron James, Hawks confirmed to ESPN .
Juliana Carlos, who later posted on social media, and her husband, Chris Carlos, exchanged words with James in the fourth quarter of the Lakers’ 107-99 victory, leading to the expulsion.
Juliana Carlos posted a video on her Instagram account showing the scene shortly after State Farm Arena security staff and one of the referees, Mitchell Ervin, intervened.
It can be heard saying, “Shut up. Don’t talk like that to my husband “, while he stands on the edge with the mask pulled under his chin. Someone in the room can be heard asking him to put on his mask, which is mandatory for all fans participating in NBA games this season. She wrote “f — ing loser” in a text box to accompany the video, with the camera facing James.
After the expulsion, Carlos posted a selfie-style video, giving him an account of what happened.
“So I’m thinking about my own business, and Chris has been a Hawks fan forever. He has been watching the games for 10 years. Anyway, he has this problem with LeBron. I don’t have a problem with LeBron. Don’t talk to me about LeBron, “she says in the video.” Anyway, I’m thinking about my own business, drinking at me. [beverage], to have fun. Suddenly, LeBron says something to my husband, and I see this and get up. And I wonder, “Don’t talk to my husband.” And he looks at me and says, “Sit down, bitch.” And I wonder, “Don’t call me a bitch. You sit down —. Get f — out of here. Don’t talk like that to my husband. “
James was not asked after the game about the accusation of calling Carlos, but he was not surprised by the incident and said that he felt that the ejection was not necessary.
“At the end of the day, I’m happy that the fans are back in the building,” he said after collecting 21 points, nine assists and seven rebounds to help LA win on the road. “I miss that interaction. I need that interaction; we, as players, need that interaction.
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LeBron James admits that he lacks interaction with the fans and is not sure that the spectators should have been eliminated from the game.
He said alcohol could still be a factor.
“You might have had a few drinks, maybe,” he said. “And he probably could have kept it during the game, and the game wouldn’t have been about the game anymore, so I think the referees did what they had to do.”
James also said that Chris Carlos went “out of bounds” with whatever he aimed at him. “I guess [Carlos] he said something that upset the big road in a wrong way, “added Lakers center Montrezl Harrell.
While James said he is not close enough to fans to be potentially compromised by Juliana Carlos who takes off his mask, other Lakers members found it unacceptable.
“He certainly exposed something about the fact that he has fans in the pandemic,” Lakers coach Frank Vogel said. “Obviously, you can’t have fans take off their masks and shout at our players with the virus these days.”
“With COVID underway, obviously we can’t have that,” LA man Anthony Davis recalled. “We want to make sure we can all be safe.”
James later wrote on Twitter about Carlos, giving him a derisive nickname commonly used to make fun of white women.
The Hawks are one of nine NBA teams currently allowing fans to participate in home games. Currently, the State Farm Arena in Atlanta allows up to 8% of its capacity for Hawks games, according to a team official. The attendance announced on Monday was 1,341.
Despite the episode, several Lakers continued to support fans who come to their games.
“We like to have fans at the game. Whether we’re at home or away, it brings us back to the game we love, that joy of the fans and the support,” Davis said. “Whether it’s 500 people or 1,000, 1,500, whatever, it’s always nice to play in front of a crowd.”
“I love my fans,” James reiterated. “Laker Nation and everyone else who is against Laker Nation. It feels better. The fans in the stands are just – it’s better. It’s better for everyone – especially in the last game of a 14-day trip.”