Originally Posted by
Bluedog
Hey, MulletMan. I agree with most of what you say, but I don't quite understand the rationale in the statement above that many people have espoused. Why is LeBron's decision to go to Miami "turn[ing] his back on thousands and quit[tting]"? Was he under a contract with Cleveland? Did he break a contractual obligation? In pro basketball (as with any other sport), if another team comes around when you're a free agent and offers 1.) more money, or 2.) a better chance to win, the athlete almost always moves and nobody thinks twice about it. Athletes are free to move about as they please as long as they're not under contract, just as owners/GMs can let players go as they please. LeBron was a great player for Cleveland for MANY years and worked hard for the team to give them results on the court. By all accounts, he was good to the Cleveland community as well. So, now after all those years of dedication, he is written off as a traitor just because another team came calling and he decided to go a new direction in order to have a better chance to win? I don't get it personally...I don't think LeBron owed the fans of Cleveland anything more than he already gave them.
Yeah, "The Decision" was over the top and probably could have been handled better (he should have told ownership first), but the end result is the same so it shouldn't have made any difference. Players change teams ALL THE TIME for any reason they please. I don't understand why LeBron is the only one that gets villanized for it. I guess it's because 1.) he's a great player, 2.) he's from ohio, and 3.) he always said in the past that he "wants to bring a championship to cleveland" (players say stuff like this all the time, and we don't hold it against them). Boozer's departure seemed a lot more controversial (in that management voluntarily nixed the contract so he could get more money), but fans don't seem to hate him. In any event, if you could explain why LeBron's actions were so terrible, I would greatly appreciate it. It's certainly possible I'm missing something.