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LeBron James slammed for mocking Kyle Rittenhouse for crying in court: 'Go play ball'

LeBron James wrote 'knock it off' after watching Kyle Rittenhouse get emotional in court, but he was slammed for being on the 'wrong side'

While testifying about the events of August 25, 2020 in Kenosha, Kyle Rittenhouse broke down at the Kenosha County Courthouse on November 10, 2021. As we reported, the moment quickly went viral, leading many to slam the teenager for what they saw as fake tears. The video of Rittenhouse crying also caught the attention of basketball star LeBron James, who joined in and slammed the teen for his "fake tears".

The moment was just one of the many viral videos from the trial, which has caught the attention of the whole nation. There's now a good chance he could walk free, after prosecutor Thomas Binger nearly "crossed the line" several times, leading Judge Bruce Schroeder to furiously slam him on several occasions. The defense has also called for a mistrial, which Schroeder has taken "under advisement". 

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But beyond the courtroom drama playing out, Rittenhouse has grabbed widespread attention for his behavior. Earlier, he was caught yawning during opening statements. Then, on November 10, he took to the stand to testify, when he got emotional and began to cry. Eagle-eyed users noted that there were no tears, leading them to theorize Rittenhouse faked his breakdown, a theory that gained a lot of steam thanks to James.

'That boy ate some lemon heads'

The same day, James retweeted a USA Today tweet about Rittenhouse's breakdown and said, "What tears????? I didn’t see one. Man knock it off! That boy ate some lemon heads before walking into court." He also added three laughing face emojis to that tweet. Of course, he wasn't alone, but James became one of the most high-profile people to claim the tears were fake. 

His mockery naturally got a lot of people talking. Within hours, the tweet had over 36,000 retweets, 242,000 likes, and hundreds of comments. A large number of users seemed to agree with James, even putting up memes comparing his breakdown to that of Brett Kavanaugh and Dawson from 'Dawson's Creek'. But, it seems not everyone was on board with the theory. A lot of the comments on James' tweet appear to be from users defending Rittenhouse or at least slamming James for poking fun of the person on trial.

 Here are just some of the many replies to James's now-viral tweet.

'Shut it, coward'

"LeBron James appears to be mocking people dealing with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in this post. Why? Is this a joke to you? Not a good look!" one Ohio politician tweeted. Another slammed, "Glad you could take a break from promoting slavery in China that benefits you to mock a kid who defended himself legally." One person commented, "Kyle Rittenhouse is more of a man at 18 than Lebron James will ever be…"

"If you are suggesting he was somehow faking it, then he is a much better actor than you were in Space Jam," one person mocked James. Another slammed, "Why is @KingJames on the wrong side of every issue? When you revisit traumatic memories it comes out differently emotionally and/or psychically. Understand the subject before commenting on it." One person noted, "Kyle Rittenhouse and team should add @KingJames and @KeithOlbermann to his list of people to sue for everything they have once this is all over!"

One GOP candidate said, "Lebron, go play ball and let Kyle live his life. This is a classic case of self defense and you know it. Did XI approve this tweet?" The New Hampshire Libertarian Party responded with "Shut it, coward." Todd Starnes commented, "I doubt that Kyle Rittenhouse is all that concerned about the opinion of a man who made his mark on life dribbling a basketball."

Despite the widespread criticism, James hasn't apologized for his tweet. He appears to have ignored the critics and moved on with his life, tweeting about basketball since. Meanwhile, the Rittenhouse trial continues, with all eyes on Judge Schroeder, who can call a mistrial at any moment if he continues to be pushed by Binger.