Why is LeBron getting so much hate?

[Dewey2007]

I agree it's not so much what Lebron did by going to Miami it's how he went about it. He could have told Cavs management his decision well in advance and went about his business. He would have caught some flak but nothing like he's getting now. This crap that he didn't know his decision until he woke up that morning is just a slap in the face of every sensible sports fan. The King needs to fess up and take his medicine.

For someone not high on drugs or alcohol this was probably one of the most embarrassing moments of unprofessionalism by an athlete ever. This just sets the bar for future athletes to do the same thing. Thank heavens I didn't waste an hour of my life watching "The Decision". The fact that ESPN signed off on it is not surprising so they have to take a little of the blame for allowing this farce to go forward. I wonder how long before we have the first high school athlete getting his own one-hour show on ESPN to announce where he's signing.

It'll be fun to watch the Heat lose in the playoffs and listen to LeBron offer up his excuses for why they didn't win.

[both-teams-played-hard]

It'll be fun to watch the Heat lose in the playoffs and listen to LeBron offer up his excuses for why they didn't win.

How many non-basketball fans will be watching, just for that reason?

[otismalibu]

How is what Lebron did different than what Arod did?

The OP's question was why is Lebron getting so much hate. I don't think anyone is saying he's the first guy to do it.

I don't really follow baseball. Aren't most MLB clubs simply farm teams for the half dozen teams that ESPN follows? Teams start tanking in June then firesale their talent to the playoff teams.

See, Lebron made us think he was going to put a lowly NBA franchise on his back and take them to the promised land. Hell, he was almost there. He didn't pull an Elway/Lindros/Manning and cry to go to a contender before he'd even played a single pro game. He was looking old school. Get a great player and build the squad around him. The NBA is terribly watered down these days. One great player and some good role players and you can get pretty far. The Answer and Lebron both made the Finals with not much of a supporting cast. It's not like he needed an 80s kind of Lakers/Celtics HOF starting lineup. But I guess it was just looking like too much work.

He killed his image. And the way he handled it with The Decision when it had long been decided, was brutal.

[Jags Fan Dan]

Lebron leaving Cleveland was like an attractive guy dumping a less attractive girlfriend. She (Cleveland) was totally all about him, but he (obviously, Lebron) was not so much. And when he breaks up with her, do you expect a rational reaction from someone who is infatuated with somebody? Not going to happen. And everybody then feels sorry for the less attractive girl who can't understand how he could leave her when she loved him so much, no matter what reason he may or may not have had to break up with her.

I think that sums it up.

[spartakid]

Lebron leaving Cleveland was like an attractive guy dumping a less attractive girlfriend. She (Cleveland) was totally all about him, but he (obviously, Lebron) was not so much. And when he breaks up with her, do you expect a rational reaction from someone who is infatuated with somebody? Not going to happen. And everybody then feels sorry for the less attractive girl who can't understand how he could leave her when she loved him so much, no matter what reason he may or may not have had to break up with her.

I think that sums it up.

Best explanation by far

[Nathan]

The whole thing was a poorly concocted charade of unprofessional garbage, that's why. And it offends me on several levels.

It offends me as a coach. I have a few years of coaching experience, and this basically says "The hell with loyalty, the hell with sticking it out. Just go somewhere with better players and you'll get what you really deserve." Great example for the kids.

It offends me as a competitor. Who exactly sits up and says "You know what I'd like to do? Join 'em rather than beat 'em. If I can't win in the playoffs in a relatively short period of time, then I'll find a way to stack the deck."

It offends me as an Ohioan. Of all people, a player in Cleveland who grew up in Akron should be extremely mindful of the history of sports in northeast Ohio, and even more mindful of exactly how much the teams mean to a region that has had so much adversity (outside the world of sports) and taken so much crap over the last 50 years.

It offends me as a courteous individual. If I leave a job, as I have before, you'd better believe I'm giving notice no matter how acrimonious it may be. If I have issues with my wife, you'd better believe I'm talking about them with her rather than emptying out the house and disappearing while she's off at work.

It offends me as someone who actually can recognize basic truth. Cleveland in the last two years had the NBA's best record twice and was 127-37. To hear the national media and a lot of other boneheads tell the story, it was LeBron James and a cast of poorly-trained cattle out there trying to go against the 1992 Dream Team, who besides having a roster of HOFers also had the "on fire" boosts from NBA Jam available at all times.

You know what I can do that LeBron James cannot do? I can go to northeast Ohio, as I do about once a month, and be able to eat at any restaurant and attend any event without being turned away. Let's see LeBron Modell try that sometime soon.

Lebron leaving Cleveland was like an attractive guy dumping a less attractive girlfriend. She (Cleveland) was totally all about him, but he (obviously, Lebron) was not so much. And when he breaks up with her, do you expect a rational reaction from someone who is infatuated with somebody? Not going to happen. And everybody then feels sorry for the less attractive girl who can't understand how he could leave her when she loved him so much, no matter what reason he may or may not have had to break up with her.

I think that sums it up.

Poor girl, who gets so close to the altar so many times and yet gets her heart torn out time and again. And everyone outside her inner circle just spends most of their time talking about how much of a skank she is, even though it's not the case.

[legaleagle92481]

I have a few issues with this.

"The whole thing was a poorly concocted charade of unprofessional garbage, that's why. And it offends me on several levels.

It offends me as a coach. I have a few years of coaching experience, and this basically says "The hell with loyalty, the hell with sticking it out. Just go somewhere with better players and you'll get what you really deserve." Great example for the kids. IF HE HAD GOTTEN INTO AN ACCIDENT ON JUNE 30th AND WAS UNABLE TO PLAY AGAIN WOULD THE CAVS OR ANY TEAM BEEN LOYAL TO HIM? OR IF IN A FEW YEARS HIS SKILLS DECLINED AND THE CAVS HAD CHANCE TO DEAL HIM FOR PLAYERS THEY FELT BETTER HELPED THEIR TEAM WOULD THEY? IT IS A BUSINESS.

It offends me as a competitor. Who exactly sits up and says "You know what I'd like to do? Join 'em rather than beat 'em. If I can't win in the playoffs in a relatively short period of time, then I'll find a way to stack the deck." WADE AND BOSH ARE NOT THE GUYS HE HAS TO BEAT: KOBE AND THE LAKERS ARE, THEY AND NOT THE HEAT ARE THE CHAMPS. THE CELTS AND MAGIC HE HAS TOO BEAT ALSO.

It offends me as an Ohioan. Of all people, a player in Cleveland who grew up in Akron should be extremely mindful of the history of sports in northeast Ohio, and even more mindful of exactly how much the teams mean to a region that has had so much adversity (outside the world of sports) and taken so much crap over the last 50 years. HE FELT HE TOOK THE TEAM AS FAR AS HE COULD IF HE RETIRED RINGLESS BECAUSE HE STAYED A CAV, IT IS HIS LEGACY THAT IS HURT WITH PEOPLE SAYING HE NEVER WON LIKE MARINO or STOCKTON.

It offends me as a courteous individual. If I leave a job, as I have before, you'd better believe I'm giving notice no matter how acrimonious it may be. If I have issues with my wife, you'd better believe I'm talking about them with her rather than emptying out the house and disappearing while she's off at work. HIS CONTRACT WAS UP HE WAS FREE TO GO WHERE HE WANTED.

Sorry for the caps just trying to make my comments stand out.

[legaleagle92481]

The OP's question was why is Lebron getting so much hate. I don't think anyone is saying he's the first guy to do it.

I don't really follow baseball. Aren't most MLB clubs simply farm teams for the half dozen teams that ESPN follows? Teams start tanking in June then firesale their talent to the playoff teams.

See, Lebron made us think he was going to put a lowly NBA franchise on his back and take them to the promised land. Hell, he was almost there. He didn't pull an Elway/Lindros/Manning and cry to go to a contender before he'd even played a single pro game. He was looking old school. Get a great player and build the squad around him. The NBA is terribly watered down these days. One great player and some good role players and you can get pretty far. The Answer and Lebron both made the Finals with not much of a supporting cast. It's not like he needed an 80s kind of Lakers/Celtics HOF starting lineup. But I guess it was just looking like too much work.

He killed his image. And the way he handled it with The Decision when it had long been decided, was brutal.

Baseball does have a different system my point is just now that AROD won noone is like well the way he went about it is not good enough as they are doing to Lebron. I don't feel sorry for the Cavs, I feel sorry for their fans. The NBA system rewards epic failure. The Cavs spent years making horrible picks i.e. Trajan Langdon, Diop, etc. and bad trades i.e. dealing Andre Miller for Darius Miles and lost year after year and finally won the lottery and did not screw it up only because they had the first pick and the guy the world agreed was going to be special was available. But Cavs fans are not alone. I live in New York we are the biggest market and the Knicks have stunk for a decade and besides now Amare have had noone worth watching for almost that entire time as those running the team have made bad move after bad move.

[BostonSportsFan]

ABCDE

I have a few issues with this.

"The whole thing was a poorly concocted charade of unprofessional garbage, that's why. And it offends me on several levels.

It offends me as a coach. I have a few years of coaching experience, and this basically says "The hell with loyalty, the hell with sticking it out. Just go somewhere with better players and you'll get what you really deserve." Great example for the kids. IF HE HAD GOTTEN INTO AN ACCIDENT ON JUNE 30th AND WAS UNABLE TO PLAY AGAIN WOULD THE CAVS OR ANY TEAM BEEN LOYAL TO HIM? OR IF IN A FEW YEARS HIS SKILLS DECLINED AND THE CAVS HAD CHANCE TO DEAL HIM FOR PLAYERS THEY FELT BETTER HELPED THEIR TEAM WOULD THEY? IT IS A BUSINESS.

It offends me as a competitor. Who exactly sits up and says "You know what I'd like to do? Join 'em rather than beat 'em. If I can't win in the playoffs in a relatively short period of time, then I'll find a way to stack the deck." WADE AND BOSH ARE NOT THE GUYS HE HAS TO BEAT: KOBE AND THE LAKERS ARE, THEY AND NOT THE HEAT ARE THE CHAMPS. THE CELTS AND MAGIC HE HAS TOO BEAT ALSO.

It offends me as an Ohioan. Of all people, a player in Cleveland who grew up in Akron should be extremely mindful of the history of sports in northeast Ohio, and even more mindful of exactly how much the teams mean to a region that has had so much adversity (outside the world of sports) and taken so much crap over the last 50 years. HE FELT HE TOOK THE TEAM AS FAR AS HE COULD IF HE RETIRED RINGLESS BECAUSE HE STAYED A CAV, IT IS HIS LEGACY THAT IS HURT WITH PEOPLE SAYING HE NEVER WON LIKE MARINO or STOCKTON.

I am sure LeBron felt he took this current team as far as he could. Again, I will say if managment got smart and got under the cap by 15 - 25 mil in the next season, then they could have gotten someone to take the money come to Cleveland and play with LeBron. Would LeBron ever have won with this current roster, probably not but they are close, one or two really good/all star players away from winning a title or at least they were very close. To say that if he was not patient and waited another season or two assuming that the Cavs moved forward and brought in more help that he could not have won is really a stretch. The irony here is that I am discounting the Heats ability to win this year with 3 All Stars and a bunch of junk that would not be the 8th or 9th man off the bench on almost any other team let alone starters or 6th men so he might still have to wait a year or more to win the title.

It offends me as a courteous individual. If I leave a job, as I have before, you'd better believe I'm giving notice no matter how acrimonious it may be. If I have issues with my wife, you'd better believe I'm talking about them with her rather than emptying out the house and disappearing while she's off at work. HIS CONTRACT WAS UP HE WAS FREE TO GO WHERE HE WANTED.

There is a professional way to handle any situation. Was LeBron free to go yes. Did he handle this correctly, in my opinion no. You are hard pressed to find anyone who thinks it is appropriate to suggest that having one of your reps call the team you played for 7 years five minutes before you go on the air to announce you are leaving. He could not even make that call himself. Just a very, very poor way to handle this. Obviously, LeBron does not have any real business acumen or sense or his advisors don't either as that was just low class and bush league. Again, it smelled of someone who was bitter and angry and wanted to stick it to the team for whatever reason. Normal professional individuals do not operate in that way.

Sorry for the caps just trying to make my comments stand out.

[legaleagle92481]

ABCDE

It would have been virually impossible for the Cavs to get under the cap, they have too many long term contracts held by players who noone else wants at those rates. Yes, a sign and trade is possible but truth be told how many free agents want to go to the Cavs even if Lebron was on the team. Twenty something, wealthy young men do not want to play in any city where there is limited nightlife. It is no coincidence that they picked Miami. Besides each other they get no State income tax and the premier nightlife scene in the USA.

The Heat roster is far from scrubs besides the big three. Haslem, Chamlers and Mike Miller are far from scrubs. Most rosters have roster filler once you get past the top seven or eight players anyway. It should be enough to get the Heat into the Finals although I do not think they have enough to beat the Lakers and Lebron will be able to watch Kobe get one for the other hand up close.

The way they handled the decision was unprofessional but his advisors are his childhood friends and young men in their mid 20s make decisions without thinking of stuff like that. David Falk or Arn Tellem would never have let a client behave that way so I think his downfall is he needs to be surrounded by more professional, experienced older advisors.