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OT - Lebron James

HonusWagner66

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It's just disrespectful and very unprofessional. Athletes these days are larger than life than ever before, I get that.... but this spectacle was truly one of a kind. I can't really ever remember a situation handled like this, before.

You can go back through numerous emotional press-conferences of the past, Gretz's presser after the trade to the Kings sticks out.... and there really is nothing to compare Bron-Bron's made-for-TV "The Decision", to.

Wouldn't it have been enough for James to gather up "his team" at location X, and deliver the news in a typical press conference??? Did we all really need to have a media dinosaur like Jim Gray preside over this??

Yea, it's a business. I'm not arguing over his decision to leave Cleveland for a greater shot at a title elsewhere. I'm just turned off by the method of delivering the news.

Didn't the money raised from the special go to charity? How is that worse than a typical press conference? That seems to me like a nice way to deliver news that a large majority of sports fans had at least some interest in.
 

beantownmaniac

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It's just disrespectful and very unprofessional. Athletes these days are larger than life than ever before, I get that.... but this spectacle was truly one of a kind. I can't really ever remember a situation handled like this, before.

You can go back through numerous emotional press-conferences of the past, Gretz's presser after the trade to the Kings sticks out.... and there really is nothing to compare Bron-Bron's made-for-TV "The Decision", to.

Wouldn't it have been enough for James to gather up "his team" at location X, and deliver the news in a typical press conference??? Did we all really need to have a media dinosaur like Jim Gray preside over this??

Yea, it's a business. I'm not arguing over his decision to leave Cleveland for a greater shot at a title elsewhere. I'm just turned off by the method of delivering the news.


What's worse, you would think he would show a little sadness about leaving Cleveland and thank the organization and fans for his time there, but no, nothing, it's all about him. And let us all be reminded, he gave an interview for E.S.P.N the magazine in 2006 where he says he won't go ring hunting, that he wanted to build a championship in Cleveland. It just goes to show his ego is most important to him. And as far as his interview for charity, he's just trying to make himself look better on the way out.
 
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evolver115

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Didn't the money raised from the special go to charity? How is that worse than a typical press conference? That seems to me like a nice way to deliver news that a large majority of sports fans had at least some interest in.




James' money did go to charity, but couldn't he have just given some of his new contract money away instead? In short, James didn't do this for the kids... don't kid yourself about that.

And, I have my doubts that ESPeon gave their earnings away.
 

HonusWagner66

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What's worse, you would think he would show a little sadness about leaving Cleveland and thank the organization and fans for his time there, but no, nothing, it's all about him. And let us all be reminded, he gave an interview for E.S.P.N the magazine in 2006 where he says he won't go ring hunting, that he wanted to build a championship in Cleveland. It just goes to show his ego is most important to him.

He thanked the Cleveland organization and the fans multiple times during the special. He even said he was sad to leave multiple times.
 

HonusWagner66

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James' money did go to charity, but couldn't he have just given some of his new contract money away instead? In short, James didn't do this for the kids... don't kid yourself about that.

And, I have my doubts that ESPeon gave their earnings away.

Why don't all athletes give some of their new contract money to charity? Why would you expect LeBron to do that? What's wrong with both? He had a nice opportunity to raise money for charity. He did. I don't care if ESPN did or not, that's not LeBron's problem. No idea how people can hate on the guy for holding this special when the money went to charity.

Oh, and LeBron probably will give money from his contract to charities. He's given plenty to the Cleveland/NE Ohio area over his career.

EDIT: And it doesn't matter if LeBron did this for the kids or to promote himself. The end result was charitable. That's important and thus I don't understand the problem with it.
 
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beantownmaniac

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He thanked the Cleveland organization and the fans multiple times during the special. He even said he was sad to leave multiple times.

You can think what you want. For me, he was just covering his tracks on his way out. As I pointed out, he said in an interview in the past that he wasn't going ring hunting, that he wanted to help build a champion in Cleveland, but when the time came he did just what he said he wouldn't do. He's no hero, don't go building him a statue, he's just another egotistical phony
 

jstewismybastardson

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Why don't all athletes give some of their new contract money to charity? Why would you expect LeBron to do that? What's wrong with both? He had a nice opportunity to raise money for charity. He did. I don't care if ESPN did or not, that's not LeBron's problem. No idea how people can hate on the guy for holding this special when the money went to charity.

Oh, and LeBron probably will give money from his contract to charities. He's given plenty to the Cleveland/NE Ohio area over his career.

why didnt Daniel and Henrik Sedin hold a press conference when they gave 1 million dollars out of their own pocket to BC childrens hospital

it seems to me he was just giving the ad revenue generated by the hour long show to charity to lessen the blow of him leaving the cavs and trying to avoid being painted as the bad guy

its ego ... its self agrandizement ... its media utilization at its finest
 

evolver115

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Why don't all athletes give some of their new contract money to charity? Why would you expect LeBron to do that? What's wrong with both? He had a nice opportunity to raise money for charity. He did. I don't care if ESPN did or not, that's not LeBron's problem. No idea how people can hate on the guy for holding this special when the money went to charity.

Oh, and LeBron probably will give money from his contract to charities. He's given plenty to the Cleveland/NE Ohio area over his career.



I don't care what he does with his money. That's not my issue. I have a problem with how this whole situation was handled. No one to my knowledge has ever handled a free agency situation like this before within N. American professional sports.

I can appreciate the fact that many people were interested in where he was going, I was curious, too. The media hype surrounding it was overwhelming. But why go about it this way? Do you believe LeBron James had the interest of poor, and underprivledged children at heart to make an hour-long, and poorly produced television special?

I do not. In my opinion it was a publicity stunt, and a poorly produced one, at that.
 

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The end result was charitable. That's important and thus I don't understand the problem with it.

The ends don't justify the means. He ripped the heart out of Ohio on national tv. Furthermore, I've come to the conclusion that Bosh, Wade, and Lebron had this all worked out long before UFA officially hit. They got a lot of franchises to pay for a lot of flights and dinners and schmoozing and boozing, Chris Bosh tweeting about how he was enjoying the process.... even though they all knew what was going to happen. They just wanted the free jetsetting lifestyle for a week, paid for by teams they knew they weren't going to play for in the first place. And chucking a few dimes to a charity for a tv appearance doesn't come close to how much other people's money they already wasted in this debacle.

I'm looking forward to the Heat not winning a championship. I don't foresee 3 studs playing heavy minutes and staying healthy all season + all playoffs and have nine scrubs on minimum salary pick up the slack. Not like Bosh and Wade are exactly healthy specimens over the past few seasons and they're not getting younger.

Sorry, honus, but it was cold AND calculated. I won't go as far as to say "evil" because Lebron does indeed have a right to choose where he's going to sign his next contract with. But as many others have stated, we just don't like how he went about doing it.
 

HonusWagner66

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why didnt Daniel and Henrik Sedin hold a press conference when they gave 1 million dollars out of their own pocket to BC childrens hospital

it seems to me he was just giving the ad revenue generated by the hour long show to charity to lessen the blow of him leaving the cavs and trying to avoid being painted as the bad guy

its ego ... its self agrandizement ... its media utilization at its finest

Why would they? That's not really relevant to this discussion at all. LeBron's special wasn't about him raising money for charity, that's just a nice result of it. James' decision was one of the biggest sports stories of the year and it warranted tv time. The people wanted it (evidence in the fine ratings I'm sure it got). The special itself was a little cheesy and what not, but I have no problem with it because like I said, 1. people wanted to have something of the nature and 2. It raised money for charity.

People saying it shows LeBrons has a big ego... no shit. Where have you been the past 7 years? But I don't see how his massive ego was something to be frowned upon in this instance. Sports fans got entertainment they wanted and little kids get money or something.
 

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So it was good because it got good ratings? Wow. That's ESPN NBA Board Swamp logic.
 

HonusWagner66

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The ends don't justify the means. He ripped the heart out of Ohio on national tv. Furthermore, I've come to the conclusion that Bosh, Wade, and Lebron had this all worked out long before UFA officially hit. They got a lot of franchises to pay for a lot of flights and dinners and schmoozing and boozing, Chris Bosh tweeting about how he was enjoying the process.... even though they all knew what was going to happen. They just wanted the free jetsetting lifestyle for a week, paid for by teams they knew they weren't going to play for in the first place. And chucking a few dimes to a charity for a tv appearance doesn't come close to how much other people's money they already wasted in this debacle.

I'm looking forward to the Heat not winning a championship. I don't foresee 3 studs playing heavy minutes and staying healthy all season + all playoffs and have nine scrubs on minimum salary pick up the slack. Not like Bosh and Wade are exactly healthy specimens over the past few seasons and they're not getting younger.

Sorry, honus, but it was cold AND calculated. I won't go as far as to say "evil" because Lebron does indeed have a right to choose where he's going to sign his next contract with. But as many others have stated, we just don't like how he went about doing it.

News of LeBron leaving was going to rip the hearts out of Cleveland whether he tweeted the news or held an hour long special about it. And I doubt LeBron and DWade put on this saga to get a couple free dinners out of it. I'm sure that's not an issue for them. Could they have known they were going to Miami all along? Sure. I wouldn't be surprised by that. But that's just speculation.

In my opinion, the special did nothing more than give the sports world a set time and date to watch something many fans had at least some interest in, raise money for charity, and show of LeBron's massive ego that everyone already knew existed.
 

HonusWagner66

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So it was good because it got good ratings? Wow. That's ESPN NBA Board Swamp logic.

It was justified by the ratings. People wanted to see his choice. It was good because it raised money for charity. It showing off his ego that everyone already knew existed isn't really news.
 

jstewismybastardson

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Why would they? That's not really relevant to this discussion at all. LeBron's special wasn't about him raising money for charity, that's just a nice result of it. James' decision was one of the biggest sports stories of the year and it warranted tv time. The people wanted it (evidence in the fine ratings I'm sure it got). The special itself was a little cheesy and what not, but I have no problem with it because like I said, 1. people wanted to have something of the nature and 2. It raised money for charity.

People saying it shows LeBrons has a big ego... no shit. Where have you been the past 7 years? But I don't see how his massive ego was something to be frowned upon in this instance. Sports fans got entertainment they wanted and little kids get money or something.

why didnt he just do this "show" without this charitable donation element since its not relevent. It wasnt a genuine attempt to help kids

It was a feeble attempt at maintaining his marketing image and people are seeing through that. That "where have you been the past 7 years comment" concerning his massive ego is a red herring since i think alot of people viewed Lebron in a positive fashion for the past 7 years. Today Im seeing a poll with 75% of respondents saying that the way Lebron handled free agency has altered the way people view him.
 

HonusWagner66

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why didnt he just do this "show" without this charitable donation element since its not relevent. It wasnt a genuine attempt to help kids

It was a feeble attempt at maintaining his marketing image and people are seeing through that. That "where have you been the past 7 years comment" concerning his massive ego is a red herring since i think alot of people viewed Lebron in a positive fashion for the past 7 years. Today Im seeing a poll with 75% of respondents saying that the way Lebron handled free agency has altered the way people view him.

I still see LeBron in a positive fashion. I have nothing against the man. That doesn't mean it isn't extremely obvious the guy has a big ego.

And he could've held a press conference without a charitable donation. I wouldn't have even had a problem with that. I've said the news warranted tv time. The fact that he used the opportunity to raise some money for charity is a good thing though.
 

evolver115

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I still see LeBron in a positive fashion. I have nothing against the man. That doesn't mean it isn't extremely obvious the guy has a big ego.

And he could've held a press conference without a charitable donation. I wouldn't have even had a problem with that. I've said the news warranted tv time. The fact that he used the opportunity to raise some money for charity is a good thing though.[/QUOTE]




It's the only good end result of this spectacle.

The rest of it is a train-wreck. James had massive amounts of positive publicity and world-wide appeal before "the decision". He's arguably the second biggest star in his profession, but after last night, he's become one of the biggest villians his sport has ever seen.... and it's because of how the message was delivered.
 
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postmaster

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So, I didn't watch the special.
I was wondering if they ever switched live to Delonte West's house to get Lebron's mothers reaction?
 

elocomotive

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You can think what you want. For me, he was just covering his tracks on his way out. As I pointed out, he said in an interview in the past that he wasn't going ring hunting, that he wanted to help build a champion in Cleveland, but when the time came he did just what he said he wouldn't do. He's no hero, don't go building him a statue, he's just another egotistical phony

Wow, people are REALLY getting worked up about this. It's the biggest decision of the biggest year in free agency in the NBA in decades. I really don't understand all the anger. The show drew the highest rating ESPN has ever had for a news show - the highest ever! If people are criticizing them for making too much out of this, the public sure did watch. So clearly the coverage matched public interest.

Lebron James is one of TONS of athletes who have gone to new teams in every sport. And while I wish he'd stayed in Cleveland, I think his motives are actually fairly respectable - he wants to win a title and he wants to play with guys who are very close friends to him. Cleveland had 7 years and couldn't provide that. I think the ownership/mgmt. tried very hard, but old Shaq, Mo Williams, Jamison, etc. and none of it worked. I think Cleveland messed this up by not getting Amare Stoudamire season before last. If they did, I think they'd have won one of the last two Finals and he'd still be in Cleveland now.

I just don't get all the anger and vitriol over it.
 

elocomotive

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It just goes to show his ego is most important to him. .

By going to D. Wade's team? Analysts have been saying for weeks his ego was too big to go to "someone else's" team.

Seems to me winning is most important to him, not his ego, since he's happy to share the spotlight.
 
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