LeBron-A-Thon ruins credibility

Though LeBron James is no longer a Cleveland Cavalier, he demonstrated quite the cavalier attitude during last week’s plugged coverage of his decision to join the Miami Heat.

Of all the over-hyped television moments in recent history, none has disappointed as profoundly as ESPN’s coverage of the shenanigans.

“The Decision,” as the program was so cleverly coined, lacked any of the historic importance or social gravity that ESPN was banking on. Instead, we witnessed an anticlimactic end to months upon months of speculation and debate about the future of the NBA.

While there were numerous problems with the way the affair was handled, none stood out so much as the complete lack of sincerity from the star of the show himself.

Though James proclaimed the hype surrounding his short-lived free agency period was “a real humbling experience,” I would hardly agree that James acted with anything short of unadulterated hubris.

In the post-show interview with ESPN’s Mike Wilbon, James displayed narcissism in the highest degree by doing what any conceited athlete does: talking about himself in the third person.

“I wanted to do what was best, you know, for LeBron James, what LeBron James was going to do to make him happy,” he said.

When James finally came out with the spectacularly unmemorable “I’m going to take my talents to South Beach,” it seemed as though the whole ordeal had been one large, heavy-handed marketing ploy.

Taking into consideration, among other things, the fact that Vitaminwater product placements and commercials were more plentiful during this charade than Adderall prescriptions during finals week, everything about the show gave off a vibe of phoniness.

The trite, scripted rapport with interviewer Jim Gray seemed almost comical at times. Gray even went as far as to ask James about his fingernail-biting habits. It seemed as though everyone knew it was a half-baked idea — except LeBron himself.

And what was with those Boys and Girls Club kids awkwardly sitting in the bleachers in the background? I can’t recall LeBron interacting with them even once.

While James donated the proceeds of the show to the Boys and Girls Club of America, I’m not really sure what the true intentions of the ordeal were.

In any case, it completely and utterly backfired — and it will surely be remembered.

When Kobe Bryant, now a five-time NBA champion, re-signed with the Los Angeles Lakers on two occasions, there were no television specials.

Nor were there any for three-time NFL champion Tom Brady when he re-signed with the New England Patriots.

While LeBron James and his entourage might have engineered potentially the greatest trio, if not the greatest team, in NBA history, they irreparably damaged his reputation and credibility in the process.


E-mail: halderfe@indiana.edu