"Trashes America and disrespects the flag" - Enes Freedom takes offense at LeBron James being the U.S. flag bearer

LeBron James went into the summer understanding that he would be busy representing the USA in basketball at the Paris Olympics. Little did the Los Angeles Lakers superstar know he would be granted the honor of carrying the flag for the opening ceremony.

However, there has been some pushback on the decision by the American Olympians to vote for James as their flag bearer. Among those who are upset is Enes Freedom, formerly known as Enes Kanter .

Freedom's beef with James

The former NBA big man's opinion about LeBron's flag-bearing stint for the Red, White, and Blue isn't surprising at all. Except for a rare message of support last year, he has almost always been critical of the four-time MVP.

Freedom has not been afraid to speak out against his nemesis, even if their feud has mostly been one-sided. Their differences in values, beliefs, and political leaning have given the former No. 3 pick plenty of material for his attacks against James.

Even Bronny getting drafted by the Lakers didn't escape Freedom's criticisms. In an interview with OutKick, he described the elder James as the dictator of the NBA, arguing that the younger James might be a good person but is not good enough to be in the league.

Bron is living the life

Funnily enough, Freedom rarely gets a response from the elder James, yet he continues to unleash verbal attacks. As they say, ignorance is bliss, so the 20-time All-Star is likely better off brushing off the 32-year-old talking head.

Besides, he clearly understands that being one of the greatest players of all time entails receiving plenty of hate. Even so, the amount of adoration he has gotten over the years likely outweighs the reproofs he regularly receives.

It's also easy for LeBron to ignore the hate when he is living the life playing the sport he loves. He has even had the opportunity to represent his country at the Olympics. The future Hall of Famer is now a four-time Olympian, having suited up for the Red, White, and Blue in 2004, 2008, and 2012.

After sitting out the Rio and Tokyo Games, he decided to dedicate his summer to Team USA again. At 39, he is likely to retire from international competition after this year. If that is the case, it is quite a way to go out, being the first male basketball player to carry the U.S. flag at the Olympics. What would make it better is if he secured a third Olympic gold medal.

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