The U.S. Olympic Committee has chosen NBA star, U.S. critic, and China backer LeBron James to carry the flag at the Paris Olympics, making him the first U.S. men’s basketball player to be awarded the honor.
The athletes nominate flag bearers, and according to CBS Sports, Steph Curry put James’ name forward as this year’s flag bearer.
“It’s an incredible honor to represent the United States on this global stage, especially in a moment that can bring the whole world together,” James wrote in a statement. “For a kid from Akron, this responsibility means everything to not only myself but to my family, all the kids in my hometown, my teammates, fellow Olympians, and so many people across the country with big aspirations. Sports have the power to bring us all together, and I’m proud to be a part of this important moment.”
This will be the fourth time since 2004 that LeBron James has played on the U.S. men’s team. He is one of only three men to play four times on a U.S. Olympic basketball team—the other two are Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Durant. He won a bronze medal in 2004 and gold in 2008 and 2012. If the U.S. men’s Olympic basketball team takes home the gold this year, it will be the team’s fifth consecutive gold.
James, though, has been a massive booster for communist China, going so far as to attack people who criticize China’s enslavement and oppression of its minority Uyghur population, who have been rounded up and placed in forced labor camps to make sportswear and other products that China sells abroad around the world.
A pro-Hong Kong activist holds an image depicting LeBron James as Chinese communist revolutionary Chairman Mao Zedong before the Los Angeles Lakers season-opening game against the LA Clippers, outside Staples Center, on October 22, 2019, in Los Angeles, California. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
In 2021, for instance, James blasted Boston Celtics player Enes Kanter Freedom for wearing shoes that carried a critical message about China.
James also attacked former Houston Rockets exec Daryl Morey in 2019 for criticizing China for its crackdown on the freedom of the people of Hong Kong. Writing, “Fight for freedom, stand with Hong Kong,” Morey had posted a simple message of support for democracy activists in Hong Kong, where Chinese authorities had been arresting and torturing them. But James attacked Morey as “uneducated” about China and then even said that free speech is a bad thing because it allows Morey to criticize China.
Several years after he publicly scolded Morey for criticizing China’s compulsion to jail political opponents and crush free expression, it was revealed that James didn’t simply scold Morey. Indeed, James was reportedly furious that Morey spoke against China and “raged” about Morey to NBA executives behind closed doors.
It’s no wonder that James is so interested in protecting China. After all, he has tied himself to China and makes millions of dollars every year with his business interests in the communist nation.
Meanwhile, James has spared no effort with his constant attacks on the United States and pushing his racial agenda that is centered around how bad this country is despite the billions he has earned as an athlete. His criticism of America was so sharp during the Black Lives Matter era that he briefly got in a dust-up with Fox News host Laura Ingraham, who was so tired of James’ mouthing off that she told him to just “shut up and dribble” instead of talking about politics. Ingraham even pledged to give James time on her show to debate his political proclamations, but he never had the backbone to take her up on the offer.
This is the man who has been chosen to carry the U.S. flag at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
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