On Thursday, LeBron James will square off against Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, and the rest of the Golden State Warriors in the first game of the 2017 NBA Finals.
Sadly, today the basketball legend is comforting his family after being the target of a revolting hate crime.
TMZ is reporting that a Los Angeles home owned by James was spray-painted with the n-word sometime last night.
A police report indicates that the word was scrawled on an outer gate, which has led investigators to conclude that the perpetrators never actually crossed James’ property line.
Of course, that’s probably small comfort to James’ wife and three children today.
The graffiti has been covered up, but not before it was seen by several stunned residents of the Brentwood community.
Sources say James bought the house in 2015, and while he spends a lot of time there in the off-season, it is not his family’s permanent residence.
At the time of the incident, James was already in the Bay Area, gearing up for his team’s matchup against the Warriors.
the LAPD is investigating the matter, and is reportedly treating it as a hate crime.
A source close to James who preferred not to be identified lashed out at the perpetrators in an interview with ESPN:
“It’s ignorance, that’s what it is,” says the insider.
“Unfortunately in 2017 people still think the way they do. I can’t say it’s surprising given what’s happened in this country the last eight months.”
The source added:
“You can be a titan of industry, you can be a community leader, you can be the best at what you do and they can cut you down to just, ‘You’re black."”
Though he remains one of the most beloved figures in NBA history, James has drawn criticism from extremists for voicing his dissatisfaction with the country’s current political climate.
James has yet to comment on the crime, and will likely hold off on issuing a statement until after tomorrow night’s game.
We’ll have further updates on this developing story as more information becomes available.