Nick Majewski 

4/11/16

 Adv. Mass Comm 

Prof. Zimdars

 The Definition of the Love/Hate Relationship: LeBron James

       It is safe to say that the pinnacle of sports lure and fame is currently where LeBron James is sitting. He has been the most dominant player in the NBA for over a decade both on the basketball court as well as your tv screens. He’s been the face of basketball since his high school years where he was the #1 recruit in the country for both basketball and football alike. He received an immense amount of college offers but instead elected to the skip his journey to what most speculate would have been his hometown school of Ohio State. He entered the league at 18 years of age and scored an NBA record 25 points in his first game. Any professional athlete will have both die hard fans as well as critics. However LeBron James is a curious case. In a recent poll conducted through Business Insider, LeBron James was voted most loved athlete in the US as well as the most hated. No athlete has ever been voted No.1 in both categories simultaneously. So what is it about LeBron that does this to people?
       A look into the development of his professional career can answer some of these questions. First, LeBron James was always said to be the savior of basketball and sports period for his home state of Ohio. After seven years with his hometown team the Cleveland Cavaliers LeBron took his team to the Finals once, but never really had the supporting cast to cause any more damage other than what having the best player on the planet can do by himself. After these extremely frustrating 7 years, “King James” left Cleveland to join the closest thing to an all-star team there was other than the actual all-star team. He “took his talents to South Beach” Miami with fellow all-stars Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh and went on to win 2 Championships out James’ 4 seasons there.
       First, obviously when he decided to leave his home town people to join other already accomplished players, many were outraged. There was video of his jersey being burned, ripped and destroyed in many different bars in many different ways following his announcement to signing with the Miami Heat. Until this day, I don’t believe LeBron would ever have even placed on the list of most hated athletes. I myself must admit LeBron lost a fan in me when he left for Miami. The fact that he was taking $110.1 million just seemed to add salt to the wound of LeBron fans since it was well known that Cleveland simply could not pay him that much. Not to mention watching him win the championships in a different jersey. There is an argument that was brought forward however that to me, speaks even more LeBron’s character than if he is able to win a championship in Cleveland. An argument brought up by none other than LeBron himself. Previous to James, players played college basketball where they matured and crafted their skills in basketball as well as being a teammate and leader. LeBron did not go to college, and equates his 4 years in Miami to the college process that players normally undergo in school. Now, it wasn't even his decisions alone that made so many people turn on him. Yes people compared it to past greats like Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan saying things like “They would never sell out like that” or “They would never join their rivals they wanted to beat their rivals.” However this is where I must disagree. LeBron James plays in a different era than the later mentioned superstars. An era where much less animosity on the court is permitted and where the media is much much more up in their you know what. People say Jordan would never have a one hour show dedicated to where he was going to play next season. This might be true but we can never really know because it wasn’t even really a possibility for him.
       In my opinion, LeBron James was doomed from the beginning. Just as social media was rising, as to was LeBron. Many of the things I see online today that are bashing and hating on James, have to do with his activity on social media and the coverage he receives from the sporting world aka ESPN and your daily dose of SportsCenter. He is the most mentioned athlete in SportsCenter's History. However once again these stats need to be explained. LeBron James has been at the forefront of basketball talk since early 2000’s. And during these past 16 years, television coverage and social media have surged and completely taken over our daily lives. Of course LeBron James is the most mentioned athlete he has been the most dominant athlete during the peak of television and media. The most popular LeBron bashing usually comes shortly after a post he makes on twitter or Instagram. Whether it’s a video of him taking late night practice shots at the gym, or rapping with his teammates after a win, many LeBron haters jump all over it saying “No one cares. Do your work in peace no need to put in social media and brag just do the work.” But, once again, I disagree with this belief. The fact is people do care. He is the most followed NBA player on twitter and Instagram garnering thousands of likes and shares etc. There was an article on Barstool about how the writer of the article says that he too has been putting in a lot of hard work lately with early mornings and late nights but you don’t see him blabbing all about so why does LeBron. This is an easy answer. First, LeBron James is a public figure. There is hardly much of his life that is not public and it has been this way since he was a teenager. It is all he has even known.
       Second, his fans do care what he’s doing and how he’s doing. He is the franchise player wherever he goes and the success of the city’s team is 100% dependent on his game and his health so any insight to either of these topics is very important information for his fans. The monster icon that is LeBron James was created by the media. He had no say in the matter. He’s been marketed as “King James” and “The Chosen One” with slogans like “We are all witnesses.” As in we are all witnesses to this man’s greatness. If you take away all the extra stuff circulating around LeBron James, it would never be argued that he is the best player the NBA has ever seen. Everyone knows this, including LeBron. And this is what makes some people mad. In a press conference in the NBA Finals last season James was asked about his confidence moving forward. His answer was simple. “I feel confident because I’m the best player in the world.” I must admit this is just asking for it. Humility seems to be a necessity in sports nowadays if you wanna be the good guy. (unless you’re Tom Brady then you can’t do anything people just hate you) But this is a trend I do not support. This is professional sports we are talking about. Pitting the best athletes against each other for ultimate glory. To me the world is becoming far too sensitive. If you are the best player in the world and everyone is thinking it, why should you not be able to say it? You don’t agree? Then beat him. Similar to my take on Cam Newton and in game celebrations, if you don’t like it, do something about it. Don’t go crying to mom.

 Works Cited

 De Anda, R. (2014, December 19). The Love Hate relationship with LeBron James - substance. Retrieved April 12, 2016, from https://substance.media/the-love-hate-relationship-with-lebron-james-3f3c6d5218bc#.cieegzo9f

Gaines, C. (2015). New poll says LeBron James is the most loved - and hated - athlete in the US. Retrieved April 13, 2016, from http://www.businessinsider.com/americans-love-hate-lebron-james-2015-9 

Sports Business Research Network. (2014). SBRnet. Retrieved April 11, 2016, from http://www.sbrnet.com/default.aspx