LeBron James’ ‘Courtside Karen’ Apologizes: To Say Things Escalated Is An Understatement
LeBron James’ ‘Courtside Karen’ Apologizes: To Say Things Escalated Is An Understatement
Update #2 (Feb. 3rd): The woman dubbed “Courtside Karen”, Juliana Carlos, has issued an apology to LeBron James after she heckled the Los Angeles Lakers star before being removed from the game.
She issued an apology to the NBA player on Instagram after going viral.
She wrote,
“About last night… To say things escalated quickly at yesterday’s game is an understatement, and I want to apologize for losing my cool and removing my mask in the heat of the moment. My husband is a huge sports fan and we’re passionate people, and let’s be real: sports wouldn’t be sports without a little trash-talking.”
She continued:
“What should have been a quick back-and-forth between two adults got out of hand and my natural instinct to stand up for the man I love kicked in. Did I get defensive when that happened? Yes. Did I use offensive language when I could have taken the higher road? Yes.”
She ended with,
“And for these things, I take full responsibility.”
Original Story (Feb. 2nd): LeBron James couldn’t help but mock a woman after she, along with her husband, was ejected from Monday night’s (Feb. 1st) game for heckling him.
He took to Twitter and wrote,
“Courtside Karen was MAD MAD!!”
He also added a handful of laughing Emojis.
During the L.A. Lakers’ game against the Atlanta Hawks, referees removed the woman, Juliana Carlos, and her husband, Chris Carlos, for going a little too hard against LeBron James. She alleged that Chris Carlos got into a screaming match with the NBA star. Juliana Carlos herself removed her COVID-19 mask to yell at LeBron James. Referees ultimately stopped the game to remove the couple.
The referees stopped the game after LeBron was heckled by a spectator in Atlanta. pic.twitter.com/apoDqvt4ll
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) February 2, 2021
Juliana Carlos hopped on Instagram Live to share her own version of what happened. She said in a profanity-laced video:
“So, I’m minding my own business, and Chris has been a Hawks fan forever. He has this issue with LeBron. I don’t have an issue with LeBron. I don’t give a f— about LeBron.”
View this post on Instagram
She continued,
“Anyway, I’m minding my own business, drinking, having fun. All of a sudden, LeBron says something to my husband, and I see this and I stand up. And, I go, ‘Don’t f—ing talk to my husband.’ And, he looks at me and he goes, ‘Sit the f— down, b—-.'”
“And I go, ‘Don’t f—ing call me a b—-. You sit the f— down. Get the f— out of here. Don’t f—ing talk to my husband like that.'”
— cinco (@therealCinco) February 2, 2021
LeBron James told reporters after the game that the couple shouldn’t have been ejected from the game.
“At the end of the day, I’m happy fans are back in the building. I miss that interaction. I need that interaction. As players we need that interaction. I don’t feel like it was warranted to be kicked out. There was a back and forth between two grown men… We said our peace, he said his peace, I said my peace — and then someone else jumped into it and said their peace. I don’t think they should’ve been kicked out.
He said of the two fans:
“But they might have had a couple drinks, maybe. And they could’ve probably kept it going, and the game wouldn’t have been about the game no more. I think the referees did what they had to do. I don’t think taking down the mask harmed anybody…I wasn’t close enough to her. I don’t think any of my teammates were lose enough to her. Maybe a couple of refs…So I hope they’re okay.”
“Safety first.”