July 9, 2010
The problem with the LeBron “Decision”
Since there haven’t been enough opinions shared about this topic, I’ll go ahead and add my own. This whole LeBron situation has disgusted me since he gave up in game 6 vs. the Celtics. I used to be a fan. I used to love watching the guy. Now I can’t stand him. I’m sure that will change over time, but this entire situation has just been a magnification of everything that is wrong with professional sports and its divas, and it is all embodied in a single player.
For the record, I have no problem with him going to the Heat. In fact, if you took out the way it was handled I would have applauded him, Dwyane, and Bosh for getting together and deciding to try and win a championship together. I’ve always thought it would be awesome if a few superstars got together to do this.
Here are my real problems with the situation:
- LeBron did not tell anyone within the Cavs organization that he was leaving. Not his teammates, not the new coach, not the owner. Could there be a bigger lack of respect for a former organization who treated you as a king?
- LeBron now calls himself “King”. (Don’t forget about Dwyane wade previously referring to his own comeback from injury to the Resurrection of Christ)
- LeBron and his people staged this entire event from the beginning simply to attract attention and adulation.
- I’m tired of people saying he should be applauded for “taking less money”. When you figure in taxes and the size of his new media market, he will come out ahead on the money end.
Michael Dugat at DallasBasketball.com summed it up the best for me:
By choosing Miami, I feel he has compounded the weight of public disdain. The perception of the masses has shifted dramatically, perhaps unjustifiably, but James chose to invite this response with how he handled the situation. He didn’t leave his home in polite humility. Rather, he did so like a husband/wife putting together an extravagant party, inviting all of the couples friends and co-workers, waiting for the crowd to arrive, silencing the group for a toast, and announcing, as the unknowing spouse watched on, that he/she had filed for divorce … he chose to make it a public spectacle.
Lastly, I feel LeBron will no longer be Batman, he will now be Robin to Dwyane Wade. That’s fine I suppose, but any rings he gets will not be his alone as they were for MJ. Personally I hope he never wins one.
One last question (Sorry I can’t take credit for this one, I heard it on the Musers this morning): When LeBron went to meet with his mom yesterday morning, was Delonte West sneaking out the bathroom window?
Comments(1)
As I told a friend of mine last night, these were not the actions of a confident man. The monumental sorriness of this whole week has, very surprisingly, exposed LeBron as someone who needs a lot of attention and security. Strange.
I don’t begrudge him wanting to win – the flip side of this is that he’s taking less money to go somewhere he thinks he can do so (until we know the contract terms, we can’t evaluate the tax impact). I don’t begrudge him leaving Cleveland, despite his deep ties to the region. As you made clear, he just did it in about the worst way possible.