Should This Be A Technical Foul On Bronny James? Video Evidence Would Say Yes

Bronny James said “don’t do that” & then hit the 3 in that boy face 😂🔥 pic.twitter.com/tSinwLTpFQ

— Hoops (@HoopMixOnly) February 14, 2023

Today this video of Lebron James Jr. popped up where he retaliated to a kid handing him the ball after a made basket. Usually it's the retaliation that the refs catch, but there was little to no intervention here. Not a huge deal, small dust-up, but probably worthy of a call. Then to hit the three and scream at this kid as you're going back down the court? Is there any one high school athlete that gets more special treatment in the world? Double tech them if you need to, but letting Bronny get away with whatever he wants just because he's Lebron's son is unfortunate. It's insane the level of special treatment this kid gets, simply because of his dad. 

With one simple tweet, I've uncovered a new breed of freak that exists solely to defend an 18 year old kid that they've never met and never will. Bronny's Army has reared its ugly head and they are a feisty bunch of weirdos. I regret sending the tweet because now I'm caught up in a tornado of Twitter basketball experts that never left the bench in high school.

Let me get this out of the way early: I don't dislike Lebron. So many people waste so much energy unnecessarily hating on Lebron but not me. Conversely, you won't see me going to bat for him the way some people do, but I'm certainly able to respect him and enjoy him in his prime.

The video shows pretty clearly that he shoved the ball back at the other kid and that things got a little testy. Again, it's usually the retaliation that draws a foul/penalty. The cherry on top is when he made a three shortly thereafter and appeared to curse at the mathlete in the green with the bowl cut. Nothing? That's allowed in basketball now? Apparently it is in this case, because it's different rules for a special subject. The refs just ignored it because... he's Bronny James and his dad is Lebron. 

Ultimately, I don't care, but my take on the matter after slogging through ten miles of Twitter shit? This is a technical foul 99 times out of 100 for ANYONE ELSE. The creeps that think they need to come fight for Lebron and his family's honor any time anyone says anything would say otherwise. 

The reality of it all is that Bronny gets special treatment unlike any other high school athlete, ever. I'm not even sure he can really do anything about it. It stinks that he isn't held to the same standard as other kids on the court, but I also think he knows that to some degree. It's unavoidable and he's a product of the All-Time NBA leading scorer so everything he does is preceded by a guy that just so happens to be the greatest basketball player and superstar of his era. Naturally that's gonna come with certain baggage, perks, and in this case, some on-court leeway (as seen in the video). He gets away with that ball shove move when 99% of the general population doesn't.

In fairness, can you imagine being a part-time referee working a Sierra Canyon game with fuggin Lebron James on the sideline? Biggest superstar athlete on the planet and his first born's on the court. You're happy to get an autograph from him if he even gives you that much time out of his day. There's gonna be security teams and ten million cameras there and you're gonna the guy to T up Bronny on a retaliation play like that? That's a bit beyond the paygrade, no chance they're making that call even though it should've been. 

I almost feel bad for him in a sense, because he'll never be as good as Lebron and that's a seriously unfair standard to have set for you. When your dad is in the conversation of the greatest to ever play the game, following in his footsteps is a tall order. Bronny will always live with those comparisons and he's almost a prop for these big-time college programs because of how singular and colossal of a walking brand his dad is. FaZe Clan signed him not because he's a famous streamer, but because he's Lebron's kid and people recognize that. He has a Nike endorsement as a high schooler. The one place in his life where he's able to be held to the same standard as the next kid is on the court, and referees seem hesitant to do even that. 

On the other hand, I don't feel bad for Bronny because his life rules and he's rich.