A lot of controversy was raised this week after many took to Twitter to complain about a young Hispanic boy singing the national anthem before Game 3 of the NBA Finals. Well that boy, Sebastien De La Cruz, certainly did not let the criticism get him down.

In fact, De La Cruz decided to stand up to those on Twitter who said that a true American should sing the Star-Spangled Banner, and when given the opportunity to sing again before Game 4, did not hesitate to do so. He fired back at those racist remarks by letting it be known just how American he is.

"My father was actually in the [U.S.] Navy for a really long time," De La Cruz said in response to the tweets. "People don't know; they just assume that I'm just Mexican. But I'm not from Mexico. I'm from San Antonio, born and raised, a true San Antonio Spurs fan."

Soon after his first performance, racist tweets started popping up online, most of which either claimed that he was illegal, or in some instances, even used racial epithets to deride the 11-year-old.

Despite those poor initial reactions, many people soon came to De La Cruz's defense, praising his rendition of the national anthem while condemning those that were verbally attacking the boy. Among his more famous supporters have been the likes of Spurs coach Greg Popovich, Eva Longoria, and the mayor of San Antonio.

"Sebastien de la Cruz, your rendition of the national anthem was spectacular! Don't let a few negative voices get you down," San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro wrote.

Perhaps no one is more proud of how the young boy has handled everything than his parents. Since his first performance, De La Cruz has fielded several interviews wherein he explains his views of those negative remarks. He has done so with a level of maturity that is rare for a person his age.

"I'm a proud American and I live in a free country ... It's not hurting me. It's just your opinion. With the racism remarks, to be honest, it's just the people how they were raised. My father and my mother told me that you should never judge people by how they look. You should judge them on the inside. And the saying that I go by is never judge a book by its cover."