A man holding T-shirts calling Lakers star LeBron James “racist” and “narcissistic” was kicked out of the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland on Monday during the Cavaliers game against Los Angeles, according to police reports obtained by cleveland.com . The man was not officially arrested or charged with anything.
The police say the t-shirts the man held included lines like “LeBron is a racist”, “LeBron is a narcissist”, “Gloria Goes West. Starring LBJ as the narcissistic king” – the last of which refers to James’ mother and a rumor that she had a relationship with her son’s former teammate Delonte West, which West denies.
The man first called attention to himself when Cavs GM Kobe Altman, several team officials and several players reported the fan to safety, with players complaining that he was shouting obscenities.
When police officers confronted the man about his shirts and his behavior, they asked to see the shirts to see if they violated the fans’ code of conduct. When the arena security guard said he was being expelled after refusing to show his shirts, he continued shouting bad words and then launched himself at a security guard. The police then escorted him out, but not before the man tried to run back to the stadium “five times … trying to make his way between the guards and officers”.
He was thrown to the ground by a police officer on the fourth attempt, and then was threatened with arrest for trespassing after his fifth unsuccessful attempt.
James scored 46 points, the record of the season, including an incredible 21 points in the fourth period, in the Lakers’ 115 to 108 victory over the Cavs.