LeBron banner in Cleveland will remain in place

There was a deluge of criticism across social media from fans who want to stare up at that banner and think, “Man, that guy brought us a championship” for as long as they please, as well as a Change.org petition with over 23,000 signatures last we checked.

The banner, located on Sherwin-Williams’ global headquarters, was set to be removed in favor of a banner celebrating the company’s 150th anniversary.

Sherwin-Williams supports the Cavaliers and the Cleveland community in numerous ways. On Tuesday it relented, also announcing that it would be donating $150,000 to the LeBron James Family Foundation.

The paint company announced Tuesday that the 10-story-tall banner saluting James that hangs on its headquarters in downtown Cleveland will remain where it is during next month’s Republican National Convention.

Founded 150 years ago in 1866, The Sherwin-Williams Company is a global leader in the manufacture, development, distribution, and sale of coatings and related products to professional, industrial, commercial, and retail customers.

However, public outcry caused Sherwin-Williams to alter those plans and remove the likeness of James for only a few weeks.

It took almost a week, but Sherwin-Williams finally seems to understand a key fact of life in Cleveland: You do not mess with LeBron James, or his banners. Sherwin-Williams CEO John Morikis said in a statement.

And now that James has delivered on his promise of bringing the city its first major sports championship in 52 years, it’s tough to take the piece of Cleveland history down without more than a few complaints. In addition, this banner would stay up throughout the entire summer, not returning for 90 days from its removal meaning Cavalier fans would have just two weeks from the completion of the NBA Finals until its removal. While we agreed with this sentiment, the right to do something doesn’t mean it’s right by the rest of the city.