Miami Heat superstar LeBron James will be wearing a clear mask to protect his broken nose when his team plays the Orlando Magic on Saturday night, ditching the black mask that earned raves from the public.
James told ESPN: "I don't know if I expected it, but I'm not surprised. It's not a league rule, but it's the league's request that you don't wear the black one. For the reasons that they told me, it didn't make sense to me. But hey, I'm just a player in this league and I will abide by this request -- I'm not even going to say rule, but request -- by the NBA."
He continued: "I'm good with the NBA. We're good. I am not against the NBA. They had a request and I fulfilled it. Let's just leave it at that. As long as (the mask) is transparent. As long as they can see my face, my opponents."
The black carbon-fiber mask that James wore on Thursday when he scored 31 points to lead the Heat past the reeling New York Knicks was such a hit that many social media users compared it to the mask worn by Batman and even villains like Hannibal Lecter.
On Friday, the league office contacted the Miami Heat asking James to wear a clear mask in future games. Other NBA players like Kobe Bryant of the LA Lakers and Kyrie Irving of the Cleveland Cavaliers also wore black masks before but switched to a clear version later on.
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