Four fans beside the court – at least one of them was not covering their faces with a mask – were kicked out of Monday’s game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Atlanta Hawks after a verbal fight with Lakers star LeBron James, the Hawks confirmed to ESPN.
Juliana Carlos, who later posted on social media, and her husband, Chris Carlos, exchanged words with James in the fourth period of the Lakers’ victory by 107 to 99, causing the expulsion.
Juliana Carlos posted a video on her Instagram account showing the scene shortly after the intervention of State Farm Arena security personnel and one of the referees, Mitchell Ervin.
She can be heard saying, “Shut up. Don’t talk to my husband like that,” while standing on the side with the mask pulled under his chin. Someone can be heard asking her to put on the mask, which is mandatory for all fans who attend NBA games this season. She wrote “damn loser” in a text box to accompany the video, with the camera pointed at James.
After the ejection, Carlos posted a selfie-style video, telling what happened.
“So, I’m minding my own business, and Chris has been a Hawks fan since forever. He’s been watching the games for 10 years. Anyway, he has this problem with LeBron. the least for LeBron, “she says in the video. “Anyway, I’m minding my own business, drinking my [beverage], having fun. Suddenly, LeBron says something to my husband, I see it and get up. And I said, ‘Don’t fucking talk to my husband.’ And he looked at me and said, ‘Sit down, bitch.’ And I said, ‘Don’t call me a bitch. You sit down. Get out of here. Don’t talk to my husband like that. ‘”
James was not questioned after the game about Carlos’ swearing allegation, but he was not intimidated by the incident and said he felt an expulsion was unnecessary.
“At the end of the day, I’m happy that the fans are back in the building,” he said after adding 21 points, nine assists and seven rebounds to help LA win. “I miss this interaction. I need this interaction; we as players need this interaction. I don’t think it would be necessary to be expelled.”
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LeBron James recognizes that he misses the interaction with the fans and is not sure if the viewers should have been removed from the game.
He said that alcohol may have been a factor, however.
“They may have had a few drinks, maybe,” he said. “And they could probably have continued during the game, and the game would no longer be about the game, so I think the referees did what they had to do.”
James also said that Chris Carlos went out of his way with everything he directed at him. “I think [Carlos] said something that bothered the great dawg, “added Lakers center Montrezl Harrell.
While James said he was not close enough to the fans to be potentially compromised by the removal of Juliana Carlos’ mask, other members of the Lakers found this unacceptable.
“It certainly exposed something about having fans in the pandemic,” said Lakers coach Frank Vogel. “Obviously, fans cannot be allowed to take off their masks and yell at our players with the virus out there during those times.”
“With COVID going on, obviously we can’t have that,” echoed Anthony Davis, the great man from LA. “We want to make sure that everyone is safe.”
Later, James tweeted about Carlos, giving her a mocking nickname commonly used to mock white women with rights.
The Hawks are one of nine NBA teams that currently allow fans to watch games at home. Atlanta’s State Farm Arena currently 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 still supported fans who came to their games.
“We love having fans in the game. Whether we’re at home or away, it just brings back the game we love, the joy of the fans and the support,” said Davis. “Whether it’s 500 people or 1,000, 1,500, whatever, it’s always nice to play in front of a crowd.”
“I love our fans,” James reiterated. “Laker Nation and everyone else who is against Laker Nation. It looks better. The fans in the stands are just – it’s just better. It’s better for everyone – especially in the last game of a 14-day trip.”