A Look at LeBron James (2016 Time Capsule)
Upon leaving the Miami Heat, LeBron James released a speech that primarily served as a press release explaining his decision. James was well aware of the controversy surrounding his return to his original team, the Cleveland Cavaliers.
James, at first, accounts for his decision to leave the Cavaliers by saying that it was much like “college for other kids.” The word “college” typically brings about connotations of rite of passage and overall growth. James attributes the quality of man he is today to his time at Miami. While one might see this as a valid justification for leaving one’s home, others may note that any passage of time ages and matures athletes, as well as people. In the midst of the reasons James chose to leave, he draws attention the sense of family and community he has in Northeast Ohio.
Soon after the mentions of home and familial ties, James calls to attention his bond to the players on the Miami Heat. James says that he went to Miami to be with his “brothers for life.” While it is quite possible to have different types of families in different parts of the country—or different parts of the world—it is interesting to note the hint of contradiction in these concepts. In using the idea of familial ties in both contexts, he tries to win over the fans on either side of the argument at hand. He appeals to both sides of the community: the actual family and the sportsmen family. James begins to create a sense of actual family in the sportsmen side when he says that he “loved being a big brother to Rio.” Not only does he call Rio his brother, but his little brother. This is interesting because it is less of a generalization of sportsman loyalty and more of intimate leadership and long-term bond between a big and little brother.
It is interesting that James points out reasons why—other than the elephant in the room—he released this statement. James mentions multiple people that he is perceived to not get along with, possibly to clear the air.
Later in the essay James states that he came to Miami “seeking championships.” While this is every athlete’s obvious goal, this can also interestingly be seen as a contradiction to previously listed reasons for going to Miami. Taking all reasons given into consideration, it is possible that James went to Miami for one reason and returned with a truly grateful attitude towards another.
Family is a very apparent theme in this statement, and there is no exception when it comes to James’ reason for coming back to Cleveland. His children suddenly come into scope when James began considering raising his family in his Northeast Ohio.
Coming back to the home he left requires a good bit of amends to be made. James mentions a letter written by Dan Gilbert, booing, and burned jerseys in response to his announced return. However, it is interesting how quickly he becomes not-so apologetic when he says, “Everybody makes mistakes. I’ve made mistakes as well. Who am I to hold a grudge?” At this point, he is apparently accepting apologies from those who did not welcome him with open arms.
James makes his intentions for the new Cleveland team very clear. He sees himself as a leader to them all, including the coach, because of how old of a soul he is to the program. James sees this not only as an opportunity to mentor the “young team,” but also a return to the community he belongs to. He wants to re-establish the community presence with the Akron third-graders that his foundation supports; James notes that his community “needs all the talent it can get.”
While the returning champion realizes what a struggle this transition may be, he is notes that he is ready and braced for facing it. It is interesting to note the number of points James touches on in this statement. It is advantageous to cover all in-scope criticisms that may arise.