OAKLAND, CA – JUNE 13: Kawhi Leonard #2 of the Toronto Raptors looks on during Game Six of the NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors on June 13, 2019 at ORACLE Arena in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
A Los Angeles coffee shop chain has banned Kawhi Leonard. Why? Because he didn’t sign with their beloved Los Angeles Lakers.
If Kawhi Leonard wants his morning coffee from here on out, he’ll have to go to a coffee shop not named Alfred Coffee.
That’s because he’s been banned from sipping their coffee beans.
According to Eater, Josh Zad, the owner of the famed Alfred Coffee chain, is apparently a diehard Los Angeles Lakers fan who was hoping that Kawhi Leonard would pick to team up with LeBron James and Anthony Davis to create the latest Laker dynasty.
Instead, he created his own super team with the rival Los Angeles Clippers, and Zad was upset. So upset that he put out a notice on the chain’s social media pages that outright bans Leonard — and Paul George — from all Alfred Coffee locations.
At first, it seemed like a harmless joke, but it seems as if Zad was serious. He didn’t want a “Clipper” to order coffee from any of his stores, which seems a bit extreme. After the ban was announced, folks took to Twitter to absolutely cream the chain.
A sample:
Kawhi may not care one bit that Alfred Coffee has “banned” him from their stores. He’s rich enough that he could hire his own barista to make his coffee at home. However, the ban has had a negative blowback, especially from Clippers fans who were a fan of their coffee.
I don’t blame Clippers fans for being offended at banning Leonard. Sure, Kawhi picked the Clippers over the Lakers, but the latter is going to be just fine, and the City of Angels is big enough for both fanbases. Banning the star of another team just because they didn’t sign with the owner’s team just seems petty.