It should have been a celebration of LeBron James playing in his 20th Christmas Day game. But the comments from the Los Angeles Lakers superstar sparked an online argument among fans. As his agent, Rich Paul, calmly tried to dissolve, it only fueled the fire.

After a brutal 103-88 loss to the Clippers, James admitted that if given an option, he would sit at home with his family rather than play in the Lakers’ Christmas clash against the Rockets. Naturally, fans didn’t like this as Christmas games have been a ritual for the NBA faithful. However, LeBron James’ close confidant tried to clear the narrative.

“When you talk about being present, you’re taking that [Christmas] away, but it’s also your job,” In an interview on the Game Over podcast, Paul backed his client. “So, what I also saw him say was, I’m looking forward to it — people skip over that — and he also said that it’s something that he’s honored to be able to do. But if you asked me what I would rather do, I would rather be with my family, just like anyone else.”

The Klutch Sports Group owner explained on behalf of James that players choosing their family shouldn’t be frowned upon. Later, to back his point and support the King James, Paul dropped a bombshell narrative. “My problem with it is, if that was anybody else who said that. 10 years from now, if you play that to somebody or see MJ say that to Ahmad Rashad, it’ll be like.” While making this competitive statement, Paul made an indifferent gesture multiple times.

Thus hinting that there would be no hate towards Jordan for saying the same thing. But this is not the first time that LeBron James has admitted to missing the NBA’s long tradition.”It’s not just a regular holiday,” James told CBS Sports in 2010. “It’s definitely one of those days that you wish you could wake up in the morning with the kids and open up presents. The fans, we always say it’s good for the fans. But the fans get an opportunity to see us all year. We’ve got TV games all year.”

Now, it is possible that even the Bulls legend disliked playing on Christmas. But His Airness never said it on record, unlike LeBron, who has reiterated this on multiple occasions.

Fans call out LeBron James’ agent for being a “mouthpiece.”

This is not the first time that fans have felt this emotion for the Klutch Sports Group owner. Ever since LeBron opted into his $52.6 million contract, Paul has been on record to state that the Lakers are not “good enough to be contenders”. That’s why fans call it attention-seeking behavior. “It’s just a dumb comment bc he could’ve retired this year. It’s just attention seeking.”

As an agent, Paul has a duty to defend his client. He even called out the notion that he is talking on behalf of James to push an agenda. Paul called that narrative “the weirdest thing.” Yet another fan was not falling for it. “This podcast is literally rich Paul being a mouthpiece for LeBron. No way yall watching this and enjoying it lol.” It’s not just that the LeBron haters are saying this. One ardent fan also felt that James’ agent should stop defending his client time and again.

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“Rick gotta stop this it’s not a good look. He don’t need to be LeBrons bodyguard in the media. LeBron is too great for that. And this coming from a bron fan.” Another reason why the netizens disliked this comment was the comparison with Michael Jordan. Since Bron came into the league, he was dubbed ‘The Chosen One’. The 4x NBA champion has rightfully broken records and rightfully deserves his place in the Hall of Fame. But the constant name-dropping of the Bulls legend is what the fans dislike. “Jordan lives rent-free in every Klutch employees mind😂”.

No doubt being away from the family takes a toll, even when you are a superstar. But a fan pointed out that this year, that won’t be the case for LeBron James. This year, for the clash against the Rockets, it is a home game, meaning Bron would spend time with his family. “It’s a home game for them that’s later in the day.. he is going to be w his family. Take the knee pads off.” All Rich Paul intended to get support from LeBron for his comment, but instead, it brought more uproar from the fans.