NBA icon LeBron James took a verbal shot against Kyle Rittenhouse, mocking the latter's tears during the trial on the 2020 Kenosha shooting.
"What tears????? I didn’t see one. Man knock it off! That boy ate some lemon heads before walking into court", LeBron tweeted, posting a video that showed Rittenhouse breaking down in court.
Rittenhouse, who is 18 years old, appeared to lose his composure as he was standing in his own defence and describing the events of the Kenosha shooting that occurred back in August 2020, when he was 17. He is charged with two homicide counts, one count of attempted murder, along with possession of a dangerous weapon and recklessly endangering safety. The teenager, however, remains adamant in denying any wrongdoing and claiming self-defence.
Basketballer LeBron James, who is a vocal black rights activist, is not the only one who has engaged in heated discussion about the Rittenhouse trial online. Some netizens, however, attacked the NBA player for his mockery of Rittenhouse's tears, asserting that LeBron made fun of Rittenhouse's "PTSD".
Other users urged people to think about the feelings of the families of those shot in the Kenosha events, which Rittenhouse is accused of instigating.
During his emotional self-defence speech, Rittenhouse insisted that he did not intend to kill anyone, but wanted to "protect" the property and businesses being looted and ransacked by the rioters in Kenosha. The then-17-year-old travelled to Wisconsin from Illinois, armed with an AR-15-style semi-automatic rifle.
The shooting, which resulted in two people dead and one injured took place amid violent protests against police brutality several days after law enforcement officers shot a black man, Jacob Blake. In contrast to Rittenhouse's claims, the prosecution insists he was looking for trouble that night, referring to the fact that the teenager was the only one who shot someone at the time.
Rittenhouse's defence called for a mistrial with prejudice - something that, if greenlighted by the judge, will bar the prosecution from appealing the decision.