Before game three of the NBA Finals on Tuesday night, the home team San Antonio Spurs brought out 11-year-old fan and America's Got Talent star Sebastien De La Cruz to sing the national anthem. The "boy with the golden voice," decked out in a Spurs-themed traditional mariachi suit, brought the house down -- as you can see in the video embedded above.
But that didn't stop the ignorami of Twitter from trying to bully him with racist messages and bitterness over a child of Mexican descent singing America's anthem. Here are just a few examples of the hate, courtesy of Public Shaming (though plenty more appear on the site):
Well, guess what, haters? De La Cruz will be back at it on Thursday night, singing the "Star Spangled Banner" again before game four, according to the San Antionio Express-News.
On Wednesday, before it was known that he'd sing again, De La Cruz himself took to Twitter to address the online bullying and take the moral high road:
Please do not pay attention to the negative people. I am an American living the American Dream. This is part of the American life.— Sebastien De La Cruz (@selcharrodeoro) June 12, 2013
He also got support from some pretty heavy hitters, including San Antonio mayor Julian Castro:
Sebastien de la Cruz, your rendition of the national anthem was spectacular! Don't let a few negative voices get you down. @selcharrodeoro— Mayor Julián Castro (@JulianCastro) June 13, 2013
Given the ugly reaction to De La Cruz's performance on Tuesday, Thursday night's song should be a pretty special moment.
As De La Cruz, locally known as "El Charro de Oro," told NBCLatino: "I don’t really care about what y’all say, and I am doing this right now.”