Advertisement

Cavaliers lift ban on fan who ran onto court to beg LeBron James to return to Cleveland

Way back in March of 2013, with LeBron James in the midst of a second straight MVP season for the Miami Heat and the Cleveland Cavaliers mired in yet another dismal post-"Decision" campaign, a young Ohioan named James Blair took it upon himself to let LeBron know that he didn't share the ire of those Cavs fans furious at the departed King for abdicating his throne. More than that, Blair wanted LeBron to know that he'd sure love it if James would return to Cleveland as a free agent in the summer of 2014.

Blair's method of communicating his unabated affection for LeBron, though ... well, it left something to be desired.

For his overzealous approach — bursting onto the court in the middle of a barnburner of a Cavs-Heat game, tapping LeBron on the back of his arm, showing him a T-shirt reading “We Miss You” on the front and “2014 Come Back” on the back — Blair got a date with Quicken Loans Arena's crack security staff, and a well-deserved ban from The Q. But he also received a high-five, subsequent Twitter salute and eventual designation as "my guy" from LeBron, which made Blair an ill-considered inspiration to those who also wanted LeBron to come back and those who didn't want to watch All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving follow suit and skip town.

Well, Kyrie didn't leave, and LeBron did come back, and Cleveland did land Kevin Love in a trade, and the Cavs look for all the world like the favorite to represent the Eastern Conference in next summer's NBA Finals. The positive vibes are flowing freely in Northern Ohio, and the warm fuzzies seem to have extended to LeBron's favorite court-stormer.

After LeBron announced that he'd come back to the Cavs in free agency, Blair told WEWS-TV that he hoped to be able to make his own comeback to the Q:

And now, it seems, he will.

Word came first from Blair himself:

... and was confirmed by Chris Manning of Cavs blog Fear the Sword:

In the final analysis, then, Blair's punishment for running onto the court during live play, interrupting the game and exposing the apparent ease of doing so at Cavs games amounts to being forced to stay home during a fourth straight sub-.500 season, and being allowed to return just in time for the rising tide. Okey-doke.

Reactions to the Cavaliers' decision to lift Blair's ban have been mixed, with some fans happy that the young man will be allowed to return to the arena after serving his sentence and others disappointed by what could be construed as the organization's tacit approval of illicit, potentially dangerous fan behavior. Whether Blair actually feels remorse for his rush remains unclear, but if nothing else, he doesn't suggest following in his footsteps:

We can only hope fellow 15-minutes-seeking fans actually hear that last part, and that the Cavs' security team is better prepared to act this season in the event that they didn't.

- - - - - - -

Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don't Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at devine@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!

Stay connected with Ball Don't Lie on Twitter @YahooBDL, "Like" BDL on Facebook and follow BDL's Tumblr for year-round NBA talk, jokes and more.