LeBron, Headband Longtime Partners

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">CLEVELAND - When it comes to headwear, LeBron James is banding together with Ben Wallace.

Wallace, the Chicago Bulls' star center, made headlines over the weekend after he violated a team rule by wearing a headband when the Bulls played the New York Knicks on Saturday.

Bulls coach Scott Skiles twice benched Wallace after he put on his headband when going to the floor at Madison Square Garden, and Skiles refused to put him back in the game until he removed it. Wallace probably will be fined for the transgression.

James, who has worn a headband since he was 13, said Tuesday he understands why Wallace is upset.

``I don't know what I'd do if I couldn't wear a headband; I'd be upset if they had some rule here,'' James said. ``I don't know why it is such a problem. It is not disrespecting anybody, it's not thinking you're bigger than anyone on the team.''

The Cavaliers don't have team rules about what players may wear on or off the court, other than the standards imposed by the NBA. Usually, six Cavs -- James, Larry Hughes, Shannon Brown, Drew Gooden, Daniel Gibson and Ira Newble -- sport headbands during games.

``I don't have a problem with headbands,'' Cavs coach Mike Brown said. ``We're all adults here; you just have to be clean. We know what we should and shouldn't wear.''

When James was in high school at St. Vincent-St. Mary, he stuck to the school's policies of no facial hair and covered tattoos on his arms with bandages. There was no rule against headbands, and he wore one with an NBA logo, much like the ones he wears now, for his entire high school career.

``It is a routine. I don't know what I'd do if I couldn't wear one,'' James said. ``If it is something you have been doing your whole life -- it doesn't matter what field you're in, athletics or the business side -- if someone comes and tells you to switch your routine up, it is going to mess up your work.''</div>

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