By now you’ve probably seen the video of LeBron James and some of his Cavs teammates riding the subway in New York City on Monday. Thanks to that famous New York traffic, it was going to take nearly an hour to get back to the hotel after shoot-around, so LeBron and Co. decided to take a six-minute train ride instead.
It was LeBron’s first time riding the subway in Manhattan, and it quickly became apparent that he could use some etiquette lessons, courtesy of real New Yorkers.
When LeBron tried to film the passenger sitting next to him with his phone, the man immediately pushed the phone away and asked him not to, launching a viral moment of his own. It turns out the man, James Michael Angelo, is a local real estate agent (and comedian), and he had a chance to tell his side of the story later on Monday.
Via Charles Curtis of For The Win:
Angelo claims he had no idea at the time it was James. As he told For The Win on Monday afternoon, all he knew was this: “I noticed a bunch of tall guys getting in the train, but I was listening to U2 and I didn’t want to be filmed.”
He thought it was a college basketball team. It was only when friends and fellow comedians started reaching out on social media that he realized what had happened.
“To be honest with you, they got on and they completely squished me and he was really unaware of his space,” Angelo said.
The reason he didn’t look too happy when the lens swung toward him? He said James’s elbow nearly nailed him three times. Angelo said he asked James to watch where his elbows were going, to which one of James’s Cavs teammates retorted, “It’s cool!”
There’s a lot to unpack here. First, he goes out of his way to specify that he was listening to U2, not just “listening to music on his headphones” or whatever. The life-affirming timbre of Bono’s voice is clearly part of a sacred morning ritual that, if interrupted, could throw his whole day out of whack.
Secondly, LeBron allegedly committed the cardinal sin of man-spreading on the subway, which at 6’8 and 250 pounds for a first-time rider probably deserves a little bit of leeway. Finally, it’s pretty incredible that Angelo thought LeBron and the Cavs were a college basketball team, considering he’s one of the most famous people on the planet, but in New York I guess he’s just another guy taking up space.
Nonetheless, this whole thing should give this guy some great material for his next stand-up routine.
