The 2010-11 NBA season was LeBron James ' first in South Beach and as he promised during his introductory press conference, it was supposed to be about not one, not two, not three, but more NBA titles. However, aside from dealing with the villain label during his first year with the Miami Heat , "King James" also had to deal with "Mama James" almost stealing the show from him.
Less than a week before the Big 3 Heat opened their 2011 playoff campaign against the Philadelphia 76ers, Gloria James was arrested by Miami Beach police for assaulting a valet at the Fontainebleau Hotel.
But not only did Gloria strike an ordinary hotel worker and use the LeBron card against him, but she was also "uncooperative" at the police station where she was brought and even said a controversial line to an officer.
"I'm trying to trust you, but I don't trust your kind," she allegedly said based on the police report.
According to the police report, Gloria asked for her SUV from the valet who brought it to her on the valet ramp. But because she was still busy talking to other hotel guests, she left the vehicle unattended for 30 minutes, which led the valet, Rockefeller Sorel, to turn it off and give the key to the valet cashier.
When she finally got to her SUV and found out it had been turned off, she angrily confronted Rockefeller, hurled invectives towards him, and slapped him. Sorel admitted in the police report that he wasn't physically hurt but was humiliated when she pulled the celebrity card by asking, " Do you know who I am? "
The report also mentioned that Gloria had bloodshot eyes and was reeking of alcohol when she was taken into custody by the police.
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After her arrest, Ms. James was taken to the Miami Beach Police station, where she made another scene as she refused to cooperate with law enforcers because she insisted that she did not commit any crime.
"While at the station, Sgt. Rojo and the shift commander, Lt. Acosta, tried to speak with the arrestee, who was then very uncooperative, stating, 'I'm trying to trust you, but I don't trust your kind. I don't trust that officer who arrested me,'" the report stated .
"Arrestee stated that she knew our procedures, but she was not going to cooperate because she did nothing wrong. Arrestee would not allow crime scene to take photos of her and requested a phone call. Arrestee was then issued a promise to appear and release to Miami Heat Executive Mr Steve Stowe," report concluded.
While Gloria never elaborated on her statement, the patrol car supervisor who responded to the scene was Sgt. Sanchez. Based on the police reports, the officers involved had Hispanic-sounding family names. So it's either that Gloria doesn't trust cops in general or she doesn't trust Hispanics.
A year later, the battery charge was dismissed, but Gloria was sentenced to 20 hours of community service and ordered to donate $1,000 to the Haitian Earthquake Relief Fund for disorderly intoxication. Rockefeller also filed a civil case against James, citing emotional stress and humiliation. That was settled in 2013.
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This story was originally published by Basketball Network on May 28, 2026, where it first appeared in the Off The Court section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
