Immediately following "The Decision," LeBron James appeared to have torpedoed his brand in an unparalleled fashion. By announcing his intention to take his talents to South Beach on a national, primetime TV special, LBJ went from hero to hated in the course of one night.
In the following weeks, fans, sportswriters, and former NBA stars began piling on James, essentially calling him a coward for taking the easy way out in Miami.
Charles Barkley and Michael Jordan joined the fun, neglecting the fact that some of their former teammates were leagues better than anyone LeBron played with in Cleveland. Magic Johnson jumped in too. (Again, neglecting that Mo Williams and Antawn Jamison aren't exactly Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and James Worthy.)
Some bloggers, like ESPN's Henry Abbott, have been quick to refute the legends – pointing out the very fact that Johnson, Barkley, and Jordan all played with all-time Top 50 players, while LBJ treaded water with Drew Gooden as his starting power forward.
But to this point, there have been far more vitriolic "LeBron torched his legacy!!" opinions than the calculated responses l ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NBA
Article written by Bryan Toporek
Is the Pendulum of Hatred for LeBron James Swinging Back To the Middle?
August 10th, 2010 by Bryan Toporek Leave a reply »
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