Over the weekend, LeBron James said, “I ain’t playing,” when reporters asked him about a memo circulated by the league in which they directed teams to prepare for the possibility of playing games without fans in the arena in response to the coronavirus.
On Tuesday, James changed his tune.
Speaking to reporters at Lakers practice, the star forward says that he was “had no idea” that there had been an actual conversation “behind closed doors” to play in empty arenas. He also said that he would follow the advice of experts on what was “best for the players.”
LeBron’s answer no doubt comes as a relief to the league, who would certainly not want to play the postseason without their star player. However, there are problems with his answer as well. First, by the time James was asked the question about playing in empty arenas, the league had already circulated a memo saying telling teams to prepare for that. So, the conversation was no longer “behind closed doors” at the time he was asked the question.
Furthermore, regardless of the timing of the release of the memo, talk about playing in empty arenas was rampant online and in social media. Making it highly peculiar that James would be unaware of the reason why a reporter would ask him that question.
The NBA also recently joined the National Hockey League, Major League Baseball, and the Major League Soccer, in following a CDC recommendation to close locker room access to non-essential personnel, such as reporters.
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