LeBron James accepts his departure from Cleveland Cavaliers could have been handled differently: NBA
Miami Heat super star LeBron James has accepted that he could have handled things differently when he was leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers last summer, and has apologized to any fans that were hurt by his actions.
James caused a furore of giant proportions when he made his move from Cleveland to Miami last pre season. He caused a severe backlash from Cleveland fans that lasted for the entire 2010-2011 NBA season and fans are still angry
with him now.
James was brought into the Cleveland Cavaliers as the first overall pick back in 2003. The boy who had grown up in Akron, Ohio was hailed by the franchise and the whole city as the messiah they had been waiting for.
James possessed, and still does possess, unmatched basketball talent and wowed the fans no end right from the start, giving birth to a love affair that lasted until the playoffs in 2010, when the Cavs were ruthlessly blown apart
by the mighty Boston Celtics.
His relationship with the Cavaliers fans was broken then, and the build up to his departure only caused more bad feelings to grow among the Cleveland faithful. When James did announce his departure, he did so in a 1 hour national
broadcast, without providing prior information to the franchise.
This city of Cleveland erupted, Cavs owner Dan Gilbert almost declared war on James in a public letter and the rest is history.
LeBron has always maintained that leaving Cleveland was the right decision, and he does to this day. He doesn’t think that could have panned out differently.
“Well, I can't say I would change anything – because it would change so much that is now leading to the future.”
James wants success, he wants the NBA World Championship, and it became clear to him at least that he wouldn’t be able to get in Cleveland. He does however regret how he announced his decision. In the interview published by The
Guardian, James said he could perhaps have not done things in the manner as he did so as not to induce such an angry response. The player also apologized to his former fans.
“But, yeah, there is definitely a better way I could have handled it, as far as the whole TV thing is concerned, and the same goes for the whole build up to the announcement. So there are definitely ways I could say I should have
changed that because a lot of people were hurt by it – and I definitely apologize to them. At the same time, you should never be afraid to do what you believe in. That's a simple truth.”
Comments like these are just the tonic LeBron needs to change his image in the public’s eye, that took a severe battering that summer and throughout last season. James simply became public enemy number 1 not only in the NBA, but
in the whole of the American sports spectrum. It is high time the super star made some amends.
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