On the eve of the NBA Finals, where the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors are set to duke it out for the third consecutive year, players are finalising their preparation and fan anticipation is reaching a fever-pitch.
But an unwanted, and extremely disgusting, distraction has reared its ugly head in the form of an act of profoundly racist vandalism.
Cavs superstar LeBron James‘ Los Angeles had a racist slur spray painted across its fence early on Wednesday morning, according to local LAPD officials.
The gate has since been covered up, but the situation nevertheless is deeply concerning. LeBron bought the property, in the LA neighbourhood of Brentwood, in 2015. However James reportedly does not occupy the residence with any regularity, and his family was not at the property at the time of the incident.
A clearly shaken and upset LeBron spoke to media in Oakland (where he is preparing for Game 1 of the Finals), asserting that he is glad his family is safe, but also offering some extremely pointed thoughts on the struggles of being black in America.
LeBron James responds to racial slur sprayed on front gate of his LA home with strong statement on race issues in America pic.twitter.com/CjUvCXixGB
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) May 31, 2017
“No matter how much money you have, no matter how famous you are, no matter how many people admire you, being black in America is tough. And we’ve got a long way to go for us as a society and us as African-Americans until we feel equal in America. But my family is safe, and that’s what’s important.”
In a subsequent interview with ESPN, James echoed those same sentiments, but with the key point of difference of stating being black in America wasn’t just “tough,” but rather it was “frightening.”
Game 1 of the NBA Finals is scheduled for Friday morning Australian time.
LAPD are sourcing CCTV footage from neighbours as their investigation into the incident continues.
Source: Uproxx.
Photo: Gregory Shamus/Getty.
