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Celeb Stokes Political Controversy At NBA All-Star Game

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Spike Lee
Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Spike Lee ignited controversy Sunday night after arriving at the NBA All-Star Game dressed in pro-Palestinian gear as an Israeli player made his debut.

The “Do The Right Thing” director showed up at the Intuit Dome in Southern California wearing a red newsboy cap and a sweater decorated with the Palestinian flag and keffiyeh patterns.

He paired the look with a matching fanny pack, turning the arena entrance into a political statement before tipoff.

Lee did not explain the outfit before the game, but he addressed reporters afterward.

“I feel like when I come to play, I come with the entire nation, and it’s fun to show that it’s possible, even for a small country like us,” he remarked.

The outfit was particularly contentious, as Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija, who was born in Israel, was appearing in his first All-Star Game.

Conversely, Avdija had an Israeli flag on the back of his jersey during the matchup.

Houston Rockets star Alperen Sengun, who was born in Turkey and is Muslim, chose a different tone after the game.

“You know, I think that stuff is a lot bigger than ours. We just going to represent our country, here, you know, the best we can. Deni is the same harder worker,” Sengun commented to the press. “You know, great guy, great person. One of my good friends in this league.”

“And like I said that stuff are a lot bigger than our stuff. We are just here doing what we love, and other stuff is out of our control,” he continued.

“And hopefully, you know, of course basketball is the thing hopefully bring everyone love, and stay together, you know, that’s what we are here for. And like I said, the other stuff is out of our control, and hopefully, you know, it’s all got into peace in all world, and that’s all we wanted.”

Lee has a long track record of mixing politics with sports, and this was not his first All-Star moment with a message stitched into his wardrobe.

Last year he wore a jacket demanding slavery reparations while sitting court-side. Cameras captured the bold lettering during the broadcast.

“We want our 40 acres and a mule,” the message read. “Yes, reparations, no subterfuge.”

The filmmaker is a regular at high-profile NBA games, often seated near the floor at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Politics has followed Lee far beyond the hardwood. In August he warned President Donald Trump against deploying federal assets to Democrat-run New York City after Trump increased security operations in Washington, D.C.

“This country right now, it’s bananas. And this guy trying to take over D.C. and just weaponize these things, I mean, he’s going to think twice to try to do that in New York though,” Lee said during an appearance with MSNBC’s Rev. Al Sharpton.

At the Cannes Film Festival last May, Lee pivoted from a question about social media to blast Trump over proposed tariffs on foreign film imports.

“I don’t know how much we can talk about American values considering who is the president,” he exclaimed.

“My wife said, ‘Spike, be very careful what you say!’ But here’s the thing, I don’t think we can condemn social media. People say the same thing about film or whatever. So, I’m not going to demonize the form.”

He later added, “No one’s working. The guy just said he wanted to put a tariff on every film that shot… I don’t know how that’s going to word.”

“People are hurting,” Lee continued, “no one’s working. There’s this guy [Trump] who wants to put a tariff on every film that shoots [outside the U.S.]. I don’t know how that’s going to work.”

“I don’t have the answer, but I love to shoot [in New York]… There’s just some things you can replicate,” he noted.

“It’s the vibe, it’s an energy. I’m very lucky that I’ve been able to shoot films that place in New York.”

Ahead of the 2024 election, Lee framed Trump’s potential return to office as catastrophic.

“Well, I’m voting my sister, the vice president. She used the language, the word forward, not backwards,” Lee declared during an MSNBC interview.

“This guy, I don’t call him by his name, I say Agent Orange and the stuff that he is saying, he’s not being shy, he is saying exactly what he wants to do if he becomes the next President of the United States. He said there should be no more elections,”

“I don’t know how people can be true Americans and just go along with that path, it would be a doomsday,” he went on.

“I’m not the only one that says this possibly could be the most important presidential election in history of this country. That’s how dire this is. It’s not a joke, it’s not funny, this is like life and death.”

Back on the court Sunday, another unexpected moment unfolded involving a former president.

Barack Obama nearly collided with Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic during a hustle play near the sideline.

Devin Booker stepped in, throwing his shoulder into Jokic’s midsection to redirect the play before contact occurred.

Obama secured the loose basketball with both hands and returned it toward the court.

He then stood and embraced Booker, while Michelle Obama reached out to shake his hand in appreciation.

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