Police are investigating a racial epithet that was spray painted on the front gate of the Los Angeles home owned by Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James, reports say.
The mansion in Brentwood is not James’ main home and Captain Patricia Sandoval of the L.A. Police Department reported that James was not home during the incident. Police noted that a property manager had alerted authorities to the graffiti, ESPN reported.
An unknown person defaced the gate with the N-word. Police said they are investigating the vandalism as a possible hate crime.
Police added that there may be video evidence of the incident from surveillance cameras.
“It’s ignorance, that’s what it is,” a person friendly with the player told ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “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 friend went on to pin the incident of racism.
“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.'”
The NBA star player has owned the home since 2015 and reportedly paid $20.9 million for the home.
James also owns a three-story mansion overlooking Biscayne Bay in an affluent suburb of Miami that he reportedly paid $9 million for during his four-year stint with the Miami Heat.
The small forward will be in Oakland, California, on Thursday as the Cavaliers take on the Golden State Warriors. It will be James’ seventh trip in a row to the finals. James has now won three championships and four MVP awards.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com.
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