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Cavs Owner Calls LeBron James a Coward: Bad Business Move

By Dr. Boyce Watkins, PhD on Jul 9th 2010 9:33AM
Filed under: Basketball

Comments (18)

The world stopped spinning for just a few minutes last night, as it was announced that LeBron James will now become a member of the Miami Heat. The move didn't surprise hardly anyone, but everyone seemed to keep hope that perhaps he might choose their city. I am sure James lost sleep over this move, as the humble athlete seems like the kind of guy who remains very loyal to his friends. The problem is that some seem to mistake his kindness for weakness.

In an open letter about the signing, Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert calls LeBron James' move "a shocking act of disloyalty." He even goes further to say that LeBron's decision to move to Miami was "the exact opposite lesson of what we would want our children to learn."

Gilbert, give me a break. Are you a businessman who understands how this all works, or are you a whining three-year old who gets angry because he doesn't get his own way? The truth is that LeBron had to make a business decision, and you are showing your own immaturity and lack of loyalty by bashing a guy who gave you seven years of his life. He should never have been in your city in the first place, since we all knew that LeBron's talent has always been meant for a bigger stage. In fact, LeBron gave up at least $100 million dollars in endorsement deals by staying in the city of Cleveland.

By publicly attacking a player for going to another team, Gilbert has tarnished the image of the Cavaliers organization in the eyes of any other big name free agent who might consider going to Cleveland. Already a weak basketball market to begin with, Gilbert's move is confirmation of Chris Bosh's claim that he would play with LeBron almost anywhere EXCEPT the city of Cleveland. This was a bad move for his organization, and he reduced the value of his team by several million dollars when he responded to James' decision with such a serious lack of class. A good team owner would have thanked LeBron for several great years, and wished him the best in the future.

I also have some other questions for Dan Gilbert about the LeBron James move:

1) Are you also going to be equally cowardly when the collective bargaining agreement is negotiated and you align yourself with other team owners to keep player salaries restricted? LeBron gave up millions of dollars to leave Cleveland, due to market salary restrictions in the NBA. Perhaps if you were to take a stand to make sure LeBron could get the salary he deserves in a fair and free market, he might not be so quick to leave your team. Oh, but LeBron understands why you would vote to restrict player salaries: It's not a cowardly move to him, it's just business.

2) Would you have been loyal to LeBron had he been injured for each of the past seven years and not been able to do his job? No. You would have cut him the first chance you could get. That's what team owners do, and you would have done the same. I imagine that all the loyalty you expect LeBron to show you would not be reciprocated if LeBron, like your organization, had been unable to meet the expectations of your mutual objective of winning a title.

3) Your remarks were clearly meant to make a kind young man feel even worse about a very difficult decision. LeBron James is not a diva. He's not a man who demanded trades, got into fights at night clubs or bashed his coaches on television. He was a hard-working Ohio native who did everything in his power to bring things to Cleveland that the city had never seen. At the end of the day, he has my respect, and he deserves yours too. The city of Cleveland may have gotten a bigger piece of LeBron James than any other city in America, so burning his jersey and cursing his name reminds him that you never had his best interest at heart. For the sake of your own decency (and I say this to anyone who is disappointed with LeBron's decision), thank him for the great years and realize that, like many relationships we experience in life, all good things must come to an end. How you respond when a love affair is broken is a revelation of who you are as a human being.

I am not sure if Dan Gilbert can get anyone to sign with the Cavs, now that he's shown that hard-working players are going to be called cowards if they choose to play for another team. Also, the idea that LeBron James, a man who has done nothing more than give 100 percent of his energy over nearly 600 games played for the Cavs, is a bad role model for children is simply ridiculous. Bad role models are the ones who bash their so-called friends in public. Dan Gilbert is not the kind of man I'd want my children to emulate.




Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition and a Scholarship in Action Resident of the Institute for Black Public Policy. To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here.

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