Of the NBA, the Media Circus, Role Models and Redemption
In 2010, many sports fans became captivated at the media circus that became LeBron James’ free agency decision on which team he would play basketball the next year.
As a sports fan myself, and someone who’s always been curious about the business side of sports, I fell prey to that media circus that surrounded this decision. I began searching several times a day to see where LeBron was going to end up.
In full disclosure, I have to admit I wasn’t impressed with how this all played out. I actually kind of disliked the guy because, as a Michael Jordan Chicago Bulls fan who watched that team achieve six championships throughout my youth, I couldn’t imagine LeBron challenging MJ as the best NBA player of all time.
Why I rooted against South Beach
The media circus surrounding LeBron in 2010 culminated in a very self-indulgent interview entitled, The Decision. It was aired on ESPN and was simultaneously broadcast to many countries. In it, LeBron triumphantly announced, “I’ll be taking my talents to South Beach!” Far from his Midwest roots and in the sun and sand of Miami, he joined forces with Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade — all so he could manufacture a championship with all-star players and taste the wine of being the best of the NBA.
I, and many other fans, felt that he made this move so that he could further support his own ambition to become the best basketball player in history.
So for the next few seasons, I enjoyed rooting against him. In fact, I would watch the NBA finals just so I could cheer on the opposing team.
Selfishly, I wanted to see him fail, and it’s not something I’m proud of.
The wrong kind of spotlight. The wrong kind of champion.
When it gets down to it, I believed the free agency move and the selfish way LeBron went about his decision set a poor example for our children, NBA fans and people throughout America who looked up to professional athletes.
Two times, I got my wish and the Miami heat lost to other teams. But two other times, he pulled it off. He won. And they won.
To me, it created the wrong kind of spotlight. That’s not how you win championship. That’s not how you act as a champion.
A game change. And a change of heart.
In a recent turn, LeBron made the decision to go back to the Cleveland Cavaliers — the team he cheered for as a young boy, and a place where he grew up learning to play the game of basketball.
But the way he went about it was very different. He didn’t call attention to himself, and he didn’t act in a childish manner. This time, he took a more mature approach and avoided creating a media extravaganza.
Instead, he made his announcement with a well-crafted message (probably with a team of PR professionals at his side). He addressed it to the fans of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Instead of making a public spectacle, he simply addressed his remarks to the very people who raised him and supported him for so many years. In a humble and understated way, he simply declared that he was coming home.
Not even the Cleveland management anticipated or knew of this change of heart.
Neither did ESPN or any other sports broadcasting outlet. Instead, he extended a genuine gesture of appreciation. He stated that he would once again be a boy from Ohio hoping to help his hometown team win their first championship in the years ahead.
A new kind of fanfare.
In the end, I have to say I appreciate the concern and care LeBron expressed for his hometown supporters. I’m going to give him the benefit of the doubt and act more maturely myself, and say I think it’s really genuine.
If this recent turnabout truly represents the man LeBron has become, one day, I may just root him on as a sports fan. Most importantly, it shows me he’s the kind of person who appreciates the people who got him to his success.
So, from a guy — once a doubter and detractor — now won over by the action of a genuine champion, I’d like to say, “Well done, LeBron James, well done.”
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