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BBC Apologizes After Airing LeBron James Footage During Kobe Bryant Tribute

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The BBC issued an apology after its tribute to former Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant featured footage of current Laker LeBron James, but that didn’t stop Twitter users from ripping the network for its mistake.

Bryant, whose 20-year NBA career included five NBA championships with the Lakers and a league MVP in 2008, died tragically in a helicopter crash Sunday morning along with his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, and seven other people.

The BBC tribute segment, which occurred during the network’s “News At Ten” program, according to The Guardian, mistakenly featured footage of James playing for the Lakers instead of Bryant, who retired in 2016.

BBC editor Paul Royall apologized via Twitter, blaming “human error.” (RELATED: BBC Doubles Down On Translating ‘Jew’ As ‘Israeli’ In Palestinians’ Anti-Semitic Comments)

“In tonight’s coverage of the death of Kobe Bryant on BBCNewsTen we mistakenly used pictures of LeBron James in one section of the report,” Royall tweeted. “We apologise for this human error which fell below our usual standards on the programme.”

Reaction to the network’s mistake was swift: