LeBron James on Thursday proved that he's not all that different than the rest of us.
Sure, he gets paid $19 million, has four NBA MVP awards and two championship rings, but he has to report to jury duty too.
James posted a couple photos to Instagram of him preparing for jury duty, and while he didn't end up getting selected for the case, it got us thinking about other athletes fulfilling their civic obligations.
A Look Back At Athletes On Jury Duty Slideshow
LeBron James
James tweeted on Thursday morning that he was preparing to "serve his civic duty," but by 10:30 a.m. he had left the county courthouse in downtown Akron after being dismissed. He instead spent his day watching NBA Finals reruns.
Michael Phelps
Shortly after returning from the 2012 Olympics in London, Phelps was called to the Baltimore Circuit Court. He reportedly caused such a commotion that sheriff's officers had to make an announcement about courthouse conduct. Later Phelps was moved to his own "quiet room" for privacy
Kobe Bryant
Four years ago Bryant was called to the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana, Calif., for an afternoon of service. He was excused after sitting through a lengthy selection process. "This is important, you have to take it seriously," the Los Angeles Lakers star said during an afternoon recess. "I don’t think anybody wants to do jury duty, but it’s your responsibility.”
Dan Marino
The former Miami Dolphins quarterback caused quite a stir when he received a special escort at the Broward County Courthouse in March. As it turned out, he did not end up sitting on a jury.
John Mara
Mara, an owner of the New York Giants, was called for jury duty at an incredibly inopportune time. In April 2011, in the middle of a lockout and while his team prepared for the upcoming NFL draft, Mara had to appear at the U.S. District Court in Manhattan. Mara has a law degree from Fordham University, where Judge Jed S. Rakoff's wife happened to work. While Mara asked out of service because of his obligations to the Giants, Rakoff said his wife spoke highly of Mara. "My only other issue with that is we're in a lockout situation right now, which may or may not end at some point in time," Mara said. "I'm one of the lead negotiators for the owners' side, so if for some reason negotiations start again, that causes -- that causes me an issue." Mara ended up serving as a fourth alternate on the jury.
Jason Witten
The veteran tight end was called to serve in June 2012, right as the Cowboys' mandatory minicamp was beginning. Witten was selected for the jury, in which the defendant pleaded guilty. Had the case dragged on, however, Witten might have been forced to miss the first offseason practice of his career.
