The Aporia · Ex-NBA player says LeBron James should 'stand the f--- still' during national anthem

Ex-NBA player says LeBron James should 'stand the f--- still' during national anthem

Read the original at Fox News ↗

Cite

APA MLA Chicago

Reigle, M. (2026, October 31). Ex-NBA player says LeBron James should 'stand the f--- still' during national anthem. Fox News. https://www.foxnews.com/outkick-sports/ex-nba-player-says-lebron-james-should-stand-f-still-during-national-anthem

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

Quick Summary

Former NBA player Jason Williams criticizes LeBron James on his podcast, urging him to stand still during the national anthem instead of swaying or practicing golf swings. Williams expressed that players are supposed to maintain a uniform appearance and behavior during the anthem but acknowledged that fines for non-compliance might not be enforced as strictly now. The article highlights criticism from other notable figures like President Donald Trump and NBA legend Charles Barkley regarding James's actions during the national anthem.

Written by AI on 2026-11-02, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

On October 31, 2026, former NBA player Jason Williams criticized Philadelphia 76ers star LeBron James for his movements during the national anthem on Bartsool Sports' "Hoopin’ N Hollerin'" podcast. Williams suggested that players should "stand still" and expressed disappointment in James's behavior. This follows increased scrutiny over James's habit of swaying and mimicking golf swings during the anthem, with even the president commenting on it earlier this season. Williams, who played 12 seasons for teams including the Grizzlies, Kings, Heat, and Magic, clarified that his criticism was not personal but rather a comment on protocol and uniformity among players.

Written for “LeBron James National Anthem Controversy” on 2026-11-02, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Why this leaning score

The model judged this article politically coded and scored it +0.35, but 1 quote(s) could not be found in the article and the other 1 are attributed speech rather than the article's own narration, so the score is not published.

Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.

Leaning score withheld for article 118887: no verified evidence · logged 2026-11-02

Compared with similar articles

Nothing to compare against. No article is close enough to this one for the pipeline to have linked or judged the pair.

How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted

sentences that state something as happening or true

Uncertain

1 of 16 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

Leaning

withheld

no quote in the article backed the model's score

Publisher signals

69/100

Fox News's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.

Outlets on this story

Sports

Same framing elsewhere

articles that frame the event the way this one does

Analyzed 2026-11-02 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability

Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Fox News · 6257 article(s) · 11 correction(s) detected

Running correction rate · 11 correction(s)

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Who wrote this

Matt Reigle

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All 70 articles by Matt Reigle →

Topics

Grizzlies Kings NBA Philadelphia 76ers the United States

Subjects

NBA ORG · 4× James PERSON · 3× Williams PERSON · 3× Grizzlies ORG · 1× Heat ORG · 1× Jason Williams PERSON · 1× Kings ORG · 1× LeBron James PERSON · 1× Philadelphia 76ers ORG · 1× the United States GPE · 1×

Narrative

Philadelphia 76ers star LeBron James' habit of swaying and appearing to practice his golf swing during the national anthem has drawn significant attention this season, with even the president of the United States weighing in.

framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-11-02

🔮 Former point guard Jason Williams — who spent 12 seasons in the league with the Grizzlies, Kings, Heat and Magic — co-

2026-11-02 · Fox News

Ex-NBA player says LeBron James should 'stand the f--- still' during national anthem · assertive framing

Claims (16 extracted, 1 hedged)

president → sway → States

Now, a former NBA player is making his feelings known, and let's just say he's not super fond of it. asserted

he → make → it

Former point guard Jason Williams — who spent 12 seasons in the league with the Grizzlies, Kings, Heat and Magic — co- asserted

who → spend → Grizzlies

The topic of James' anthem habits came up on the most recent episode, and he didn't hold back. asserted

he → come → episode

"I do," Williams told his co-host Adam Ferrone when asked if he had thoughts on the issue. asserted

he → do → issue

"I think motherf---ers should just stand the f--- still during the national anthem. asserted

ers → think → anthem

That’s just my opinion." asserted

That → ’ → ?

Williams did, however, note that he didn't personally care about what LeBron was doing, but did once again note that he wished the NBA great would stand still. asserted

great → note → what

"You’re supposed to stand still!" he continued. asserted

he → suppose → ?

"Look, they’re all dressed the same. asserted

they → look → ?

He’s dressed different. asserted

He → dress → ?

Guaranteed he got fined because you’re all supposed to be dressed the same. asserted

you → guarantee → ?

You’re supposed to be standing still. asserted

You → suppose → ?

When I played, that was the rules. asserted

that → play → ?

They could’ve changed the s--- now, but I guarantee he got fined." It's important to note the NBA has not levied any fines against James for his mid-anthem warm-ups. However, Williams and President Donald Trump are not the only ones to criticize James. uncertain

Williams → change → James

NBA legend and "Inside the NBA" co-host Charles Barkley also ripped him for not standing still during the anthem. asserted

legend → rip → anthem