Sorry Football Fans, I Have To Write On A Basketball Story This Morning

I know this is supposed to be all about football, but with the reaction to the LeBron announcement I just had to write this.  Because it’s about sports, sports fans, and sports owners.  So bear with me on this one please.In reading the reaction to LeBron’s announcement to go to Miami, I am surprised.  Not by his decision, but the overwhelming negative reactions.  It is just unbelievable to read some of the reactions I’ve seen.

And let me first state that I think that the way that LeBron made this announcement is over the top and basically self centered to say the least.  But I’ll talk about that more in a minute.  First to the reactions.

Lets start with the owner, Dan Gilbert.  I don’t know the guy or anything about him.  But I feel pretty sure that had LeBron resigned, he would have called him not only “The King” but probably the greatest basketball player of all time or something to that effect.  But instead he rips him and calls him a coward and a quitter.  If he really believed he was a quitter, why wait until now?  Why be so upset that you weren’t able to sign him?

Now to the fans.  I hear the words “cruel”  “cowardly betrayal”  “deserted us”.  And they were burning his jersey in the streets.

I have three main thoughts on this.  First, why do people think that LeBron owes Cleveland anything?  As far as I know he never signed a lifetime contract.   And from what I saw, he gave the team and the city 7 great years of basketball.   To say he “betrayed” Cleveland, that he “deserted” them is just plain crazy in my opinion.  He has the right to pursue his desires, in this case a championship. And as far as I remember, he gave not only them great basketball but of himself to that community during that time. What, beyond that, does he owe?

Second, I would say that he could have handled the decision and announcement differently.  Creating the frenzy, stringing it along, having your own prime time show to announce that you are leaving, well I’m not a fan of that approach.  I do think it adds to the hurt and the sting of his leaving.  Was it narcissistic?  Was it self-promoting?  Was it a spectacle?   Probably yes to all of those.  But was it wrong, a crime, betrayal, cowardly?  Not in my humble opinion.

Last, I would ask, “What do you expect?”  While I am not a fan of the approach that LeBron took, look at how we have elevated him and other sports stars.  If you call a guy “The King”, treat him like he is, literally, a king, why would you expect him to act any other way.  Kings are never about the subjects.  They are about their kingdom and their own power.  And that is part of the problem in all sports.

We create this atmosphere, allow all types of behavior, pay them obscene amounts of money and then we are surprised by their behavior.  Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that LeBron is like some of the other professional athletes with their legal problems and other issues.  But I am saying that if he did handle this in a narcissistic, self promoting, self centered way, are you really, seriously surprised?

Get a grip America.