Michael Rubin’s annual Fourth of July White Party in the Hamptons has become one of the most photographed events on the sports calendar. Stars like Kevin Durant, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson regularly turn up in all-white outfits year after year. Now, in an unrelated rant that spiraled in an unexpected direction, Mike Tomlin’s son Dino name-checked LeBron James in a rant that was targeted at Rubin.
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In a video posted to social media, Dino Tomlin aired out a personal grievance against Fanatics founder Michael Rubin when he brought his own father, former Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, into the conversation.
“My dad claims he was invited and went. I don’t know the validity of that,” Dino said, before turning his skepticism toward James, “you know LeBron be lying a little bit like sometimes that ni**a be lying a little bit he swears um that he went.”
“We have a house in the Hamptons,” he continued. “I really only be up there around fourth of July time because that’s like the only time that I got enough free time to go up there … but he like kind of lives up there now on my dad so this is like a few years ago he claims that he went to the but I was up there for the fourth of July I don’t know that s*** in South Hampton that’s a grip away so I don’t know what the time frame was in which he went up there.”
He also pointed out that James wasn’t photographed in the event’s signature all-white dress code, saying: “and I know that ni**a didn’t put on all white. … he claims that he went and peaked for a little bit f*** that *** it’s a party with too much cameras and shit.”
Most of Dino’s rant, however, had nothing to do with LeBron James at all. Most of the video was spent criticizing Rubin directly over a business dispute involving his mother, who holds an NFL license to produce women’s apparel.
According to Dino, Fanatics was involved in a deal that ultimately left his mother’s business on the losing end after she’d put in significant work to secure the license.
He acknowledged Rubin’s reputation as a savvy businessman but made clear he viewed the situation as personal. Adding that Fanatics’ NFL merchandise has suffered in quality while flooding the market at a scale independent designers like his mother can’t compete with.
James has attended Rubin’s white party in past years alongside dozens of other athletes and celebrities. That has made him an easy target for a passing joke, even in a rant that was ultimately about something else entirely.
Dino’s comments about James was brief. Neither James nor Mike Tomlin has publicly responded to the claim. For now, the “lying” accusation appears to be a stray shot fired in the middle of a much more personal grievance about the family’s dealings with Rubin’s company.