Lasso LeBron: My Night With King James
He Called Himself “Lasso LeBron” and it turns out, the love of country music isn’t the only thing he’s “lassoing.”
LeBron James Cheating Allegations In The News
Before I tell you my experience with basketball star, LeBron James, a podcaster named Sofia Franklyn made some remarks about various celebrities making women sign non-disclosure agreements when ‘spending the night with them.’ She hosts the “Sofia with an F” podcast and [From Fox News] “Franklyn went on to say she knew “for a fact” Leonardo DiCaprio’s associates ask women if they want to go back to the actor’s house and sign a nondisclosure agreement about the interactions. She then mentioned that the Los Angeles Lakers superstar does the same thing.
“Should I be outing all these people?” she asked rhetorically.
“LeBron James has various parties constantly where NDAs need to be signed and women are at,” she said. “You didn’t know LeBron’s a cheater?”
When her producer was shocked about the allegation, Franklyn said: “You are the rest of the world who don’t understand how shady most people are.””
How I Met LeBron James
From 2011-2013, I was the full-time National Anthem singer for the Philadelphia 76ers. It was a dream job, especially for someone who had played basketball in College (shout out to the Boston College Women’s basketball team!) The CEO of the Sixers had seen this rendition of the National Anthem I did with the Boston Pops, called me on the phone, and offered me a job singing the Anthem for every single Sixers’ home game.
In 2011, I was living in Nashville and writing songs and performing my music professionally. Because I really wanted to stay in Nashville, the Sixers agreed to fly me from Nashville to Philadelphia every time the team had a home game. (I accumulated thousands and thousands of frequent flyer points because I was traveling so much). And every time I landed in Philly, I stayed at The Four Seasons Hotel.
Turns out, the opposing teams that came into town also stayed at the Four Seasons Hotel. So at any given moment, an NBA star could walk in to the hotel and walk by you. People who stayed at the hotel loved it, and as a basketball player, I thought I had stepped into a magical version of the movie Space Jam.
The Night I met “Lasso LeBron”
On February 2, 2012, I was sitting at the bar at the Four Seasons Hotel on the night before the Sixers played the Miami Heat. Since I stayed at the hotel so often, I was very familiar with the bartenders and staff, and I always enjoyed a meal at the bar. I was eating my salmon and drinking a negroni when all of a sudden I turned around and saw LeBron James walk into the restaurant. He was with an athletic gentleman and they took a seat at a four person table.
My stomach dropped. Of all of the times I stayed at the Four Seasons I never saw an NBA superstar actually have dinner IN the restaurant. Seeing LeBron James up close was a first for me and I knew in that moment that I wanted, no I needed to grab a picture with one of my basketball idols.
I was about to get up out of my seat and go over to LeBron until I saw a gentleman in his 40’s approach him. The guy had a jersey for LeBron to sign and asked for a picture. Out of the corner of my ear I heard Lebron tell him, “I appreciate you being a fan, but if you don’t mind, I would like to finish my meal.” Ok, point taken, Ayla. Don’t go up to him now or he’ll turn you away too.
After hearing LeBron say that to the other guy, I thought to myself there’s no way he will get a picture with me. But ten minutes later, after I finished up my food and drink I thought, Ayla, this is your chance. If you never approach him now you never will!
“Where’d You Play Ball?”
Slowly I walked up to LeBron at his table. He was in mid-conversation with the man he entered the restaurant with, but I politely smiled and said, “LeBron, I am so sorry to interrupt, but you are a huge inspiration to me. I just finished playing basketball in college. You’re eating dinner, but when you’re done eating I would love to get a photo with you.”
I started backing away and like “bowing” to him like an absolute loser. Like, I didn’t want to disturb the king of basketball. And then he spoke back to me and asked, “Where did you play ball?”
My cheeks turned red. Not because I thought he was good looking or anything. But because at that precise moment I wanted him to respect me as a baller. Here I am this six-foot, white basketball player who traded her sneakers in for cowgirl boots. But I responded, “I just graduated from Boston College.”
That’s when he asked me to sit down with him and have dinner (for the first time). I politely declined and told him that I would wait at my seat at the bar and when he was finished I would love to snag a picture with him. I went back to the bar and sat down.
Ten minutes later I felt a large, heavy arm around my shoulder. I looked behind me and it was NBA superstar, LeBron James. He said to me, “Come on now, come sit at the table with us.” (That was the second time he asked me to join him at the dinner table).
My Seat at Lasso LeBron’s Table
I nervously and excitingly took at seat at Lebron’s table. He asked me what position I played at Boston College. I told him I was a guard and a forward. Then he asked me, “What is a pretty baller like yourself doing here?” There goes the red cheeks again. I’m not good with compliments.
I explained to him that I was the full-time National Anthem singer for the Sixers and a country music singer out of Nashville. And that’s when things got really interesting. He said, “My friends call me Lasso LeBron. I LOVE country music. My favorite artist is Carrie Underwood.”
I was shocked. You’re telling me that LeBron James, NBA superstar, is a country music fan? There’s no way. But he knew Carrie Underwood’s songs and he said his friends make fun of him for it and that’ s why they call him “Lasso LeBron.”
And while he’s telling me all of this, I notice that LeBron is taking my purse off of the floor and putting it on the empty chair next to him. And then he began organizing all of MY belongings on the table. He put my drink up and to the right of the plate, he took my phone and placed it right next to him on my right. He was organizing my things. I looked at him while he was doing this and he mentioned that he was very particular with his things and that they should all be in the right spots.
Then LeBron asked the waitress for a Chamomile tea. Chamomile tea? LeBron is a tea drinker? And just as I was thinking that he looked at me and said that he had a cup of it every night before bed.
Who Was I Talking To?
I learned that the other gentleman at the table was LeBron’s strength and conditioning trainer. As I made small talk with him, I noticed in the corner of my eye that LeBron had MY phone in his hand. I thought he was moving it to a different spot on the table. I mean, at this point it was safe to say that LeBron James was the most interesting man I had ever met. He loved country music, he was obsessively compulsive when it came to where things should be placed, and he drank chamomile tea every night before bed.
After 20 or so minutes we finally got a picture together! The whole reason I sat at the table with him was to get that picture, and by golly I did!
“Do You Want to Cuddle?”
It was getting late (about 11:30pm) and LeBron and his conditioning coach excused themselves from the table. They had a big game the next day against the Sixers and wanted to get some shuteye. I said, “Me too!” and told them as we went in the elevator that I would see them tomorrow at the game. (You know, because I was going to be on the court singing the Anthem). I got off the elevator and went to my room. I brushed my teeth and put on my PJ’s and got under the covers.
That’s when I saw my phone light up and a text message come through. Ding. I looked at who was texting me so late and saw that it was “LJ.” LeBron James had put his number in my phone and put his name as ‘LJ,’ and now he was texting me. THAT’S why he had my phone at the dinner table.
He got straight to the point. “Do you want to cuddle?” Cuddle? I was shocked because I was pretty positive he was in a relationship with his high school sweetheart. And I was also seeing someone at the time. Because of those two things alone I declined his invitation to cuddle. Firstly, It wasn’t a good idea, and secondly, I wasn’t interested in him “like that.”
“It’s just cuddling,” LeBron wrote. I’m sorry, but just cuddling? There’s no way LeBron James wants to just cuddle. I declined him again for the second time and told him I would see him the next day at the game.
The Next Day
The next morning arrived and I still couldn’t believe that LeBron James had invited me to eat with him, that he loved country music, and that he asked me to cuddle. Was that a dream? I went to the Wells Fargo Center for the game that night and as I was standing by the scorer’s table getting ready to sing, LeBron James ran by me during his warmups and winked at me. I almost died. Minutes later I sang the Anthem as I did every home game and moved on with my life.
I never thought anything of that night, this story, or my memories of ‘Lasso LeBron’ until I saw the recent allegations of him being a cheater. And quickly, my own memories flooded back to that night back in 2012 when I met LeBron James at that hotel restaurant. And by the way, in no way, shape or form did I cuddle with ‘Lasso LeBron’ that night, or any night for that matter.
LeBron Over the Years
LeBron James
Ayla Brown is the morning show host on Country 102.5 in Boston on “Country Mornings with Ayla Brown.”
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