In Defense of LeBron, yet again

I understand that I may now be considered a Troll now (http://blog.cleveland.com/anger-management/2010/07/if_you_still_are_trying_to_defend_lebron_james_in_cleveland_you_are_now_a_lebron_james_troll_get_los.html), though I am not exactly going to follow the NBA beyond listening to my kids read to me from the sports page during breakfast.

Back in May, I defended LeBron James. Well, I was re-reading that post recently, and all in all, I still believe it. But the part that stuck out for me, in light of recent events, was where I mentioned, “We can even gang up on LeBron and call him out for being a 25 year old spoiled brat.” At the time, I said that he has shouldered the responsibilities over the years. In fact, he really has been the team (with a supporting cast that has been expected to pass him the ball and step aside when the going gets tough). I’m certainly not criticizing any of the players right now; they do their best based on how they’re coached. I’m criticizing the management as a whole. I don’t know what went on behind the scenes in the Cavs organization, but the end result is clear. A young high school graduate was handed the world on a silver platter. He was called “King James” and “The Chosen One” again and again. He was put in a bubble, with people everywhere coddling him and giving him everything he wanted. At some point, he began to believe it. We didn’t mind. We didn’t read anything into his photo shoots and commercials, because he still worked hard, trained hard, and led a clean life. We believed that he saw the humor in the titles, that they were simply ways for the media to sell their stories.

So is he spoiled? Well, according to KeepKidsHealthy.com, “There is no such thing as a spoiled child. Spoiled is an inference, a judgment that people make after noticing behaviors.” His behavior hasn’t changed; we just no longer wish to overlook it because he made a decision we don’t like. If he would have stayed, fine. We would be praising his one-hour special for raising money for charity. We predicted that he would, in fact, be staying, because nobody would have a one-hour special to announce that he’s leaving. But that assumes a different upbringing than he had.

“Parents need to change their attitudes about spoiled children and see instead a child who is attempting to satisfy his needs with an ineffective behavior. They need to change their own behaviors and be willing to take the time to teach new behaviors to their children. They need to be willing to confront, deal with conflict, and take the time to do solution-seeking.”

Applying this to LeBron, let’s look at who was in charge: Dan Gilbert. This man that sent out (or at the very least approved) a pathetic scorned-lover letter. He sent it to rally fans to continue to support the team. To say that he was emotional because he cares about Cleveland would be silly. He is, just like LeBron, looking at the bottom line. While LeBron was here, he spoiled him, letting him get away with walking off the court after a loss without shaking hands with the other team, or not paying attention at meetings. Read here for more of Dan Gilbert’s brilliant insights.

But at the same time, he also plans to build a casino in Cleveland. Never mind that casino’s are essentially a tax on the poor, Dan Gilbert has pushed hard to legalize them. His issues with James are business-related, and his letter was a media-related move aimed to keep fans spending their money on the Cavs (at least, until the casinos open). This blog echoes some of my sentiments.

As far as David Stern’s reaction to it all, I’m sorry, but it’s kind of weak. Fining the Cavs (which I’m sure the people are somehow going to have to pay for): I get it. But when he said “Had he asked my advice in advance, I might have suggested…” After admitting that he reads the Sports Business Daily, and knowing that LeBron was the top news item, couldn’t he perhaps have reached out to him? Perhaps a subtle reminder of what the tactful approach would be? I should think that in this league of superstar personalities and celebrity (because this really is a league at least as much about the theatrics as it is about the game), reacting after the fact (and almost a week later) is not going to do change anything. The fine is laughable considering how much money the Cavs saved by not re-signing LeBron. And frankly, what is going to happen to that money? Couldn’t the Cavs be forced to give that money to the city’s schools or something? The money will most likely go back into the NBA and into perpetuating more of the drama that keeps it at the forefront of people’s minds.

All I’m saying is, at least while he was slapping Cleveland in the face with his nationally televised dumping, LeBron James raised money to help the Boys and Girls Club of America. And in the end, our criticism of him is still limited to a lack of tact and sensibility. Not, we must remember, weapons possession, drugs, sleeping with hundreds of women (of course, he’s not married), fighting, or anything more than the result of living in a bubble. Heck, even Paul McCartney saw fit to criticize the Dalai Lama, so thick is his bubble. (I am referring to the episode of 30 Rock called The Bubble).

As a friend pointed out recently, "Cleveland has closed 16 schools and laid off 500 teachers, no comment from the Cleveland community at large. But we rally together, protest, and fight to keep LeBron James??? We even stand on lunch breaks downtown holding signs the beg him to stay. Where are our priorities?" Let's direct this outrage where it belongs. Now that we have shown that we have time and energy to focus on something beyond ourselves, let's use it productively.

But no, after judging comfortably from the receiving end of the newspapers and television, we can go back to work, to school, to our families. Our lives will go on. And so will the lives of Dan Gilbert and LeBron James.