LeBron James has spoken out after being accused of 'disrespecting' the US national anthem before an NBA game.
James, who currently plays for the Los Angeles Lakers, was filmed apart from the rest of his team while 'The Star Spangled Banner' was playing.
It appeared that the 40-year-old was simply stretching, though he came under fire following a TikTok post published by ESPN which was captioned: "Bron practicing his golf swing?"
Some fans flooded to the comments section, with one fan calling him 'the most unlikeable athlete in history' and receiving nearly 3,000 likes.
Another wrote: "Disrespecting the flag in the country that made him a millionaire."
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A third said: "Show some respect please."
But others saw no issue with what James did, with another stating: "He's just warming up to play a 48+ minute high intensity basketball game. That doesn't show disrespect."
James did not speak to the media after the game, which Lakers lost 119-96 to the Houston Rockets on Christmas Day.
He has since updated his Instagram story with a post about his son, Bronny.
He then reposted a photo of one of his two-pointer shots from the game against the Sacramento Kings on Sunday night, which the Lakers won 125-101.
James, who has begun playing golf regularly in recent years, admitted prior to the match that he would 'rather be at home with my family'.
"I mean, it's the game I love," he told reporters. "It's the game I watched when I was a kid on Christmas Day, watching a lot of the greatest play the game on Christmas.
"It's always been an honor to play it.
"Obviously, I'm gonna be completely honest, I would like to be home on the couch with my family all throughout the day.
"But our number is called, so we have to go out and perform and I look forward to it."
Topics: Lebron James, NBA, Basketball, United States
Ryan Smart