By Geo Ong
LeBron on the cover of the Plain Dealer, a Cleveland paper.
The LeBron James free agency saga may be old news in the world of American sport, but to our readers who may or may not follow the National Basketball Association, here is the necessary background info:
LeBron James, the best basketball player in the whole world not named Kobe Bryant, left his team of seven years, the Cleveland Cavaliers, to join the Miami Heat in hopes of increasing his chances to win a championship. There was a wee bit of backlash from the city of Cleveland, spurred on by Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert, who authored the now-infamous ‘Open Letter to Fans’ in what has now become the angry type font of choice, Comic Sans. Gilbert’s merchandise company, Fathead, even repriced wall posters of LeBron at the clearance price of $17.41, the birth year of Benedict Arnold.
This isn’t so much a defence of LeBron but rather a rebuke of Dan Gilbert. And while I won’t go as far as Jesse Jackson calling Gilbert a ‘slave master’, I will say that Gilbert did seem to regard LeBron as a money-making marvel (something which LeBron and other superstars of sport have been transformed into) and not the person LeBron actually is. I will also say this: when multi-millionaires have their toys taken from them, they’ll cry like poor babies.
Open Letter to Dan Gilbert from Urchin Geo Ong
Dear Dan,
Hey man, it’s okay. It’s not the end of the world. While losing LeBron will ultimately cost you some money (maybe you should rethink discounting those posters), your corporations are doing fine, aren’t they? (What is it you do, anyway?) Tell yourself this: It could be worse. You could be BP.
LeBron made a choice that he believes will make him happy. Isn’t happiness, like, one of the most important things in life? I read somewhere that it was. I also read somewhere that, for some, happiness and money somehow go hand in hand. Maybe that’s your problem?
I can’t imagine the inner turmoil you must be going through. You spent seven years hoping LeBron would win a ring, and now you don’t want him to. Well, if it’s any consolation, I’ve got good news and bad news concerning that. The good news is that LeBron won’t win a ring this year. The bad news is that you won’t either because Kobe will beat you both.
Toodles!
Geo Ong
