Star LeBron James responded sarcastically to President Donald Trump's strong criticism of the NBA star's actions, considering that he showed disrespectful behavior during the playing of the national anthem.
When 41-year-old LeBron James was asked in the mixed area after his team, the Philadelphia 76ers, who came to them before the start of the season, coming from the Los Angeles Lakers, defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers, Friday, 114-106, he responded briefly and sarcastically, saying: “It is supposed to be a quiet day in the office,” according to local media.
Trump had posted a video of the basketball star apparently performing warm-up movements while lining up with his 76ers teammates.
Trump wrote on his platform, Truth Social: “While listening to our national anthem, LeBron James shows disrespect for our country!” “I said from the beginning that there is no good in it, it is a complete disgrace.”
He added: “LeBron James must apologize to all the great American warriors and heroes who died for the American flag, and for everything our country represents!”
The caption inside the video used by Trump said: “LeBron practicing his golf swing before the game.” The clip shows James making lateral swings and basketball-like shooting movements.
It was not immediately clear when the video was filmed.
Trump has previously criticized athletes, especially black athletes, for their behavior during the playing of the American national anthem before matches.
During his first term, Trump targeted NFL star Colin Kaepernick because of his decision to kneel during the playing of the “The Star-Spangled Banner” anthem in protest against racial injustice and police brutality.
Norwegian top scorer Erling Haaland is scheduled to return to the ranks of Manchester City in the match that the team will play away from home to Aston Villa this weekend in the English Premier League.
The brilliant Norwegian striker did not participate in Manchester City's Champions League match against Greek AEK Athens in midweek, as a precautionary measure after suffering a bruise in his foot during the previous match against Ipswich Town.
Haaland had scored two goals against Ipswich last Saturday, bringing his tally to 12 goals this season, but he left the field limping at the end of the match, and remained on the bench without participating against AIK last Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Manchester City's technical staff continues to evaluate the condition of Nico O'Reilly, Mateo Kovacic and Matthews Nunes, who also suffered knocks in the same match.
Technical director Enzo Maresca said on Friday: “Maybe they are all available, or maybe not, as doubts still remain.” Haaland is the only one who is 100 percent ready, and as for the other three, we must wait.”
Manchester City started the season in a great way, as Maresca became the first coach to win his first seven matches in the English Premier League after taking over the leadership of a new club.
Manchester City leads the standings by three points ahead of its closest rival, Arsenal (the defending champion), before its trip on Saturday to Villa Park.
The team suffered only two defeats this season. The first is against Arsenal (the defending champion) in the Charity Shield match at the beginning of this season, and the second is against the French club Paris Saint-Germain, one of the strongest teams on the Old Continent, in the European Champions League.
Manchester City's performance was also not affected by the uproar surrounding the club since a ruling was issued convicting it of violating financial regulations last month.
Maresca added in his statements reported by the British News Agency: “The atmosphere is very good.” We are happy with our start, but we are looking forward to more victories.”
On the offensive level, the team scored 23 goals in the last 6 matches. However, Maresca believes that there is room for further improvement, as he stressed, saying: “We must find the right balance between the goals we score and the goals we receive.”
He continued: “At the present time, we are scoring a lot of goals, but I am certain that we are capable of development, as there are always aspects that we can improve. “This is our goal.”
On the other hand, Aston Villa suffered from a disappointing start this season after the departure of key players during the last summer transfer period, but it did not suffer any defeat in its last six matches, and it also provided a remarkable performance in European competitions.
The Italian coach spoke about Aston Villa, saying: “I have great respect for (coach) Unai Emery. He is a wonderful technical manager, and his team provides very distinguished levels.”
Maresca concluded his speech by saying: “You can clearly see what they aspire to. They play with very intense pressure when they do not have the ball, and they are currently going through a positive period and achieving victories. “I am absolutely certain, 100 percent, that it will be a difficult match.”
The Spanish Football Club Valencia announced, on Friday, that the investment group, Beachwise Holdings, had agreed to buy a 42 percent stake in its shares, in a deal that values the club at about 1.25 billion euros. The equivalent of $1.4 billion. The group includes private family offices and institutional investors, is supported by George Roberts and Henry Kravis, founding partners of KKR Investment Company, and is led by sports officials Anne Rodriguez and Corey Woolfolk, who will join a new ownership group alongside Kiat Lim, the club’s president.
Beachwise will buy shares from Meriton Holdings, the majority owner of Valencia, and will inject an additional 100 million euros into the club to invest directly. Valencia said that completing the deal remains conditional on completing the usual procedures, including obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals.
Under the agreement, Meriton retains the majority stake in the club, while Kiat Lim continues as president of Valencia. The deal combines the entry of new investors and the provision of additional funding for the club, with the current owner continuing to retain the majority. The club did not announce broader details regarding sports plans or how to distribute the new investments between the team’s needs and its other projects.
