The American basketball legend LeBron James landed in a hot water after the video of him snapping at a kid went viral on social media following the USA's gold medal win at the Paris Olympics 2024 on Saturday, August 11.
The defending Olympic champions the USA registered 98-87 win over the hosts France to clinch their fifth consecutive gold medal in basketball at the Summer Games. For the second time, the United States of America (USA) clinched five successive gold medals in basketball at the Olympics.
Following the fifth Olympic win, the USA basketball players were completely soaked up in the celebration. However, what caught the attention amid the celebration was the behaviour of legendary LeBron James towards the kids outside the hotel.
In a video that went viral on social media, James can be getting out of the car with the gold medal around his neck and the a young fan was approaching the veteran basketballer with a phone in his hand. However, the 39-year-old seemed to be a little as he can be heard sternly telling the kid 'STOP! STOP! and entered the restaurant with a little dance.
After the video of his interaction with the kid went viral on social media, LeBron James received backlash and criticism from the netizners for his behaviour. People took to social media, especially on X handle (formerly Twitter) and slammed the legendary basketball player for being arrogant after winning the Olympic gold, while others feel that James would have behaved differently if the fan was a black kid.
Hete's how netizens reacted to LeBron James's viral video
With the fifth successive gold medal in Olympics, the USA solidified their position as the most successful the basketball team at the Summer Games, with 20 medals, including 17 gold, a silver and 2 bronze. The only time the USA basketball team lost in the Olympic final was in 1972, defeated by the Soviet Union.
The USA basketball team had a brilliant run at the Paris Olympics 2024. Firstly, the 17-time Olympic champions topped the group stage by winning all three matches against Serbia, South Sudan and Puerto Rico and qualified for the quarterfinals, where they defeated Brazil.
In the semifinal, USA again met Serbia but defeated them again and to book their berth for the final. In the final, the USA overcame with a tough challenge from France in order to clinch their fifth Olympic gold medal on the trot.
