Everything LeBron James does stirs debate – even an accidental fall into a cameraman.
The Cavaliers superstar suffered a cut to his head in the Warriors’ Game 4 victory, and Andrew Bogut believes it was James’ fault. After Bogut fouled him as he drove the baseline, James took two more stumbling steps before he fell into the cameraman seated courtside.
“I think he jumped into the cameraman,” Bogut said, via USA Today. “Yeah, I think he came down and took two steps and then fell into the cameraman. I definitely, definitely didn’t hit him that hard.”
When asked if that was what he saw, Bogut responded even more firmly.
“No, that’s how it was. If you look at the replay, you can see the two steps being taken and then him falling into the camera. That’s what we saw on the replay, and that’s what my teammates saw.”
(Merritt is also the guy who confiscated two videographers’ tape of James getting dunked on by then-college player Jordan Crawford in workouts during the LeBron James Skills Academy.)
Athletes watching on television came to James’ defense.
In a series of tweets, Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers said cameras shouldn’t be so close to the athletes and said the under-the-basket camera has always been “dangerous.”
Meyers Leonard of the Trail Blazers echoed Rodgers, saying the cameras’ proximity poses a constant danger.