Cleveland didn’t need any more reason to hate Lebron James. As he departed from the city that loved him and raised him for the warm, high profile setting of South Beach Miami, Cleveland Cavaliers fans had all the ire they needed.  Besides, he was also looking for chic Los Angeles apartments for when he played against the NBA teams there. After all, who could blame them; Lebron left them publicly, announcing his decision to the world first, on a prime time special. Cleveland fans had been through their fair share of tough sports times, but this might have stung the most.

Upon James’s arrival back in Cleveland to play against his old team, the setting was intense and braced for a war. Death threats had been made and fans were looking for blood more than they were looking for boos. What should have been a time to voice displeasure had become a time to try to damage and hurt James personally, through vicious signs and actions.

So. who or what was the reason for such a strong hate? The truth is it might have been social media that fueled the fire for LBJ’s return to his birthplace. Sites like YouTube were filled with viral videos of how James quit on the team in his last playoff series with Boston. There were fan made responses to his “What Should I Do?” Nike ad. In their version, they put up a graphic at the end that said “Quitness,” the same signs that were all over the Quicken Loans Arena.

The Internet, which was previously a place to look up simple searches for Los Angeles Apartments, was now being used to fuel the hatred of a city’s former beloved star. This was something that the rest of the nation had anticipated. The game came without incident to LBJ. They had increased security but it’s a wonder if that should have been necessary at all.