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LeBron James And The City Of Cleveland’s Complicated Relationship

By Ben Gibson

Mar 10, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) during the game against the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 10, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) during the game against the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports /
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LeBron James
GREENWICH, CT – JULY 08: LeBron James and ESPN’s Jim Gray speak at the LeBron James announcement of his future NBA plans at the Boys & Girls Club of America on July 8, 2010 in Greenwich, Connecticut. James announced during a live broadcast on ESPN that he will play for the Miami Heat next season. (Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Images for Estabrook Group) /

The Decision And The Return Of The King

Things got forever complicated for LeBron with The Decision.

We all remember the fallout, but after the Miami Heat came up short against the Dallas Mavericks and were humbled in 2011, the national hate for LeBron started to wane, much less when he won two championships over the next two season. After the first title, what fun was it to root against him?

At that point, he was always going to have at least that one. There was no stopping him from being able to say he won an NBA championship. Winning began to shift the perception of LeBron both in the media and with NBA fans. While the nation was embracing LeBron again, Cleveland still had plenty of animus for him even though deep down, they hoped James would return.

LeBron James Career Points, Rebounds and Assists per Game | PointAfter

It was a relatively quiet day during free agency in 2015 when his letter to the city was published with the help of Sports Illustrated’s Lee Jenkins. At that moment, the city of Cleveland opened its arms to, in their mind, a prodigal son. But the reality of the situation is he was coming back to save Cleveland (sports). The fact is, and most Clevelanders won’t admit it, is they need LeBron, but he doesn’t need them.

But going back to The Decision, perceptions were altered both in Ohio and on the national level. To many, it felt like LeBron had dumped Cleveland in front of a national audience, creating the idea he owed the city of Cleveland something. Players don’t owe fans and their teams anything beyond what is agreed in their contract. Fandom makes us irrational and creates this idea that the have some responsibility to us, but as fans, they don’t owe us anything.

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    • Dan Gilbert’s stupid comic sans letter to Cleveland fans certainly gave the impression he and many in the city by the lake felt LeBron took something away from them, and that some sin had been committed. The Decision was one of the biggest miscalculations in the history of public relations, but it was really nothing more than a public free agency choice.

    Normally this would have been something leaked to the press after he made his choice, but announcing it on live television created this redemption narrative for him and the city. It doesn’t matter that Gilbert had to apologize to LeBron and acquiesce a considerable amount of power while making James a de facto general manager (remember who used to coach the team?).

    The reason he came back to play for the Cavaliers was simple and he basically had been guilt tripped into it. It was the idea that he owes the Cavaliers and their fans a championship. LeBron is fully aware of how he’s perceived by the media and fans, and he knows what they expect and how they want this story to play out. Because of this, the narrative demands he makes amends for The Decision. The narrative demands that he win a championship for Cleveland because the city needs it so badly after all these decades of failure. LeBron can redeem himself (for what, really?) by giving the city a championship.

    I imagine part of LeBron did want to come back, but there was plenty of pressure being put on him to make his return as well.

    LeBron’s twisted and complicated relationships with the city and Cavaliers fans are on the mend, but things haven’t exactly gone as expected now that he’s back.

    Next: Greater Expectations and Tougher Competition

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