Four fans in court – at least one of whom did not cover her face with a mask – were kicked out of Monday’s game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Atlanta Hawks after a verbal spat with Lakers star LeBron James, the Falcons told ESPN confirmed.
Juliana Carlos, who later posted on social media, and her husband, Chris Carlos, exchanged 107-99 words with James in the fourth quarter of the visiting Lakers’ victory, causing the ejection.
Juliana Carlos posted a video on her Instagram account showing the scene shortly after State Farm Arena security staff and one of the referees, Mitchell Ervin, intervened.
You can hear her say, “Close the f — up. Don’t talk to my husband like that,” as she stood on the sidelines with her mask pulled down under her chin. It can be heard that someone outside the camera is asking her to put on her mask, which is required of all fans attending NBA games this season. She writes ‘f — ing loser’ in a text box to accompany the video, pointing her camera at James.
After the eviction, Carlos posted a selfie-style video telling her what happened.
‘So, I’m thinking of my own business, and Chris’s been a Hawks fan forever. He’s been watching the games for ten years. Either way, he has this problem with LeBron. I have no problem with LeBron. do not give ‘nf — about LeBron,’ she says in the video. ‘Either way, I think of my own business and drink my [beverage], pret have. Suddenly LeBron says something to my husband, and I see it and I get up. And I’m going to say, ‘Do not talk to my husband.’ And he looks at me and he goes, ‘Put the f — down, bitch.’ And I go, ‘Don’t call me a bitch. You put the f — down. Take out the f — here. Do not talk to my husband like that. ”
James was not asked after the game about Carlos’ allegation of naming, but he was not surprised by the incident and said he felt an expulsion was unnecessary.
“At the end of the day, I’m glad the fans are in the building again,” he said after giving up 21 points, nine assists and seven rebounds to help LA win the start. “I miss that interaction. I need that interaction; we as players need that interaction. I don’t feel like it was kicked out.”
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LeBron James admits he misses the interaction with fans, and is not sure the spectators should have been removed from the match.
However, he did say that alcohol could be a factor.
“They might have had a few drinks,” he said. “And they could probably have kept it going during the game, and the game would not have been over the game anymore, so I think the referees did what they had to do.”
James also said that Chris Carlos goes “off limits” with everything he directed at him. “I think [Carlos] said something that rubbed the big dawg wrong, ‘Lakers center Montrezl Harrell added.
While James said he was not close to the fans possibly harming her mask by Juliana Carlos, other members of the Lakers found it unacceptable.
“It definitely exposed something to the fans of the pandemic,” Lakers coach Frank Vogel said. “Of course you can’t have fans taking off their masks and yelling at our players with the virus out there.”
“While COVID is going on, of course we can not have it,” echoed the great man, Anthony Davis of LA. “We want to make sure we can all be safe.”
James later tweeted about Carlos and gave her a ridiculous nickname that is often used to drive the white women with the mockery.
The Hawks are one of nine NBA teams that fans can currently attend their home games. According to a team official, Atlanta’s State Farm Arena is currently allocating up to 8% of its capacity for Hawks games. Monday’s announced attendance was 1,341.
Despite the delivery, several Lakers still supported fans coming to their games.
“We love having fans at the game. Whether we’re at home or away, it just brings back the game we love, that joy from the fans and the support,” Davis said. “Whether it’s 500 people or 1,000, 1,500, whatever it is, it’s always fun to play in front of a crowd.”
“I love our fans,” James repeated. “Laker Nation and everyone who’s against Laker Nation. It just feels better. Fans in the stands are just – it’s just better. It’s better for everyone – especially during the last game of a 14-day trip.”