Not everyone in Los Angeles is ready to welcome LeBron James to the Lakers with open arms. After announcing his decision to join the storied franchise earlier this month, a mural showing James donning the purple and gold with "King of LA" was put up in Venice, California.
On Friday, the Twitter account @BenOsaze offered $300 to anyone who would deface the mural in a tweet that has since been deleted. When the self-proclaimed "Unofficial Spokesperson for the Los Angeles Lakers Fanbase" was questioned about his motive for offering a reward for vandalizing the art piece, he said there should be "no murals until he wins a title."
Two days after the reward was offered, the mural was vandalized with insults like, "We don’t want you," "No King," and "LeFraud,” as well as a reference to his NBA Finals record of 3-6.
An account that has already been deleted responded to the bounty with a video showing the vandalism in progress. By Sunday evening, the mural was back up as if nothing happened, but there was a small alteration. The "of" in "The King of LA" was removed.
Maybe this slight change can be a sufficient enough compromise. Or maybe some Lakers fans don't want to see LeBron mentioned in the same breath as "King" and "LA."
