"You're Welcome LeBron" Billboard Pops Up In Akron
AKRON (CBSMiami) – When all else fails, go big or go home.
That seems to be the advice that Miami radio host Dan Le Batard's father, Gonzalo 'Papi' Le Batard is taking in his attempts to tell LeBron James 'you're welcome' for the two championships he won while playing with the Miami Heat.
The failed attempt by the senior Le Batard to take out a full page ad in James' hometown newspaper has spurned something much bigger.
Sometime on Wednesday a billboard popped up in Akron, Ohio and the message was bright and clear.
"You're Welcome, LeBron. Love, Miami" is what the giant-sized ad reads, which includes photos of two Miami Heat NBA Championship rings.
'Papi' Le Batard regularly goes on his son's radio show and podcast and hasn't been shy about his disdain for James' not yet saying thank you to the people of South Florida.
On a recent show, Dan Le Batard discussed the ad, saying "We're telling him you're welcome because he hasn't said thank you to Miami."
According to CBS4 news partner The Miami Herald, ESPN has removed Le Batard from the air for two days as a result him taking out billboard ad.
In a released statement, ESPN said that Le Batard's "recent stunt does not reflect ESPN's standards and brand. Additionally, we were not made aware of his plans in advance."
Le Batard will return to the air on Monday.
James went on national television in 2010 to announce that he was leaving his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers to join the Miami Heat but after reaching four straight NBA Finals and winning a pair of championships, he decided to go back to the Cavs.
It's understandable that Heat fans would feel scorned after four extremely successful years that James spent in Miami.
There were no indications that James wanted to leave the Heat and all signs pointed to him remaining with the franchise that did everything possible to put championship-caliber teams on the court with LeBron.
A tweet posted on the Dan Le Batard Show twitter account shows a nice montage of photos that different people have taken of the billboard.
That escalated quickly... -Mike Ryan pic.twitter.com/TkIoOouFak
— Dan Le Batard Show (@LeBatardShow) August 7, 2014
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