Fans of LeBron James as a member of the Lakers just can't seem to catch a break. For the second time, an artist in the Los Angeles area has created a mural to honor James joining the Lakers only to see the work get vandalized. The most recent attempt had James, donning a Lakers jersey, looking up to multiple all-time Lakers greats.
The latest LeBron mural meant to represent the type of history he was joining and that he has yet to stand with the other Lakers legends. The vandal(s), apparently anti-LeBron for whatever reason, decided to deface the mural, which originally looked like this:
NOW THIS IS A LAKERS MURAL! pic.twitter.com/xvgnEsJqnv
— Santiago Muñez (@mozkid8) July 19, 2018
I went to visit the mural with one of my bestfriends @jamtjohnson and this was what we saw first thing this morning. Haters have struck again. pic.twitter.com/oOCwF8lZ7C
— ThatHollywoodGuy (@Diehardheatfan1) July 21, 2018
The first James mural had a similar fate. It honored James joining the Lakers, but soon got vandalized. The original artists modified the mural only to have it vandalized again. As a result, they responded by erasing the entire mural themselves.
Welcome to LA @KingJames #thekingofla ... by me and my boy Menso @The7thLetter pic.twitter.com/nBTlowZH3p
— Jonas Never (@never1959) July 6, 2018
Lebron James' mural in Venice has been vandalized for a second time - so the artist painted white over the whole thing. Story at 5:15pm @nbcla #lakers #graffiti #art #streetart pic.twitter.com/zDnX1aAxle
— Angie Crouch (@AngieNBCLA) July 11, 2018
It seems like James can't get his due in Los Angeles. Of course, this is likely the work of a vocal minority of fans who dislike James as opposed to the very large majority thrilled to see him become one of the next all-time great Lakers. The real question at this point is who is this vocal minority?
Are they actually unhappy Lakers fans, or are they merely people that just don't like James at all? Maybe, it has nothing to do with James at all. The first mural defacing got so much attention that it wouldn't be surprising to see this second attempt end up as nothing more than a publicity stunt from some random fan seeking attention. It's unlikely that whoever did this will come out and take credit for it so it will have to remain a mystery for now.