LeBron James had his reasons.
The Lakers star explained Wednesday why he had two Pacers fans ejected in overtime of his team’s 126-116 win in Indiana, including a clutch 3-pointer that helped clinch the victory.
“When obscene gestures and language come into it, (it) can’t be tolerated,” James told reporters. “There’s a difference from cheering for your team and not wanting the other team to win and things I would never say to a fan and they shouldn’t say to me.”
James, who finished with 39 points, did not specify what the fans — who appeared to be a couple — said to him. One fan, who alleged to be sitting near the two, provided some apparent insight.
With 2:29 left in overtime, James pointed at the two fans and told the referee: “This one right f—king here!”
The woman who got the boot shed some fake tears and made a pouty face on her way to the exit, though there were no other objections by the foul-mouthed couple.
James was coming off a one-game suspension, which kept him out of the Lakers’ loss to the Knicks on Tuesday night, for elbowing the Pistons’ Isaiah Stewart in a bloody Sunday melee in Detroit.
It’s not the first time James has had fans ejected from an arena. Last season, James had four fans kicked out of a game in Atlanta. One of the fans, Juliana Carlos, continued her James hate on Instagram in a curse-filled rant. It earned her the nickname, “Courtside Karen.” Carlos ultimately deleted her Instagram account as backlash mounted.
There have been no reports of the Pacers couple taking their gripe to social media.