LeBron’s move
A boon to marketing, a blow to loyalty Now that NBA superstar LeBron James has exercised his contractual right to play in Miami rather than Cleveland next season, what does his move say about the sports world and today’s culture?
Short answer: not a lot of good things.
Much of the fault lies with James himself. He could have made a simple announcement that, after seven years with his hometown Cavaliers, he preferred to join his friends Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh with the Heat in an attempt to win his first NBA title.
Instead, ESPN, as it often does, got involved with a silly one-hour special Thursday night centered on LeBron’s decision. The unnecessary extravaganza only added fuel to James’ critics, who see the 25-year-old, two-time MVP as a narcissistic egomaniac who has not earned the right to such lavish attention over players who have won championships.
For what it’s worth, it may have dawned on James at the last moment how bad this all looked. Some say he appeared increasingly uncomfortable as the nonsensical show wore on.
So let’s run down the list.
A good day for James? Not according to the vitriol spewed his way in the blogosphere.
A good day for the NBA? Not really. One of the sport’s best leaves his hometown team in a lurch going to a city whose interest in the NBA, and sports in general, is often tepid.
And as for loyalty in sports? This was Pearl Harbor and 9/11 rolled into one. Just check out the jilted Cleveland fans burning all things James.
To stretch the point further, James’ departure is another blow to the Rust Belt, which has been dying a slow death since the 1980s.
Certainly the lure of warm weather, South Beach models and the good life would be hard for any of us to resist. But shouldn’t the simple promise of winning a championship for your hometown carry a little more weight? Maybe it did in 1964, when NFL star Jim Brown and the Browns won Cleveland’s last pro sports title.
But sports in 2010 center increasingly on image and marketing – LeBron James the product as much as James the small forward. And that notion was the only winner Thursday night.
Scripps Howard News Service