LeBron James has been the most hated person in professional sports since the Decision on July 8, 2010. He joined the Miami Heat to team up with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, with the intention of winning multiple championships. As of tonight, he has now won multiple championships.
There are multiple things I don't get about all the hatred that has been going his way. The first one is that LeBron is far from the first person to try to do this. Does anyone remember when Karl Malone gave up on his hopes of having the most points all time to join up with Kobe Bryan, Shaquille O'Neal, and Gary Payton on the Los Angeles Lakers? While it's true this team lost to the Pistons in the NBA Finals, there is another recent example of this kind of thing. While the Boston Celtics traded for Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett in 2007, the situation was still somewhat comparable. This team of course won the Finals that year, with the help of the emerging Rajon Rondo.
Another thing I don't get about all the hate is why 100% of it is directed at LeBron and none of it at ESPN, for airing the Decision. If I had to take a guess, I'd bet it was ESPN's idea, and they approached him. LeBron, being a young man who wasn't fully matured at the time (he's been a celebrity since he was in high school), said yes, and at the very least chose to donate the proceeds to charity. The 2013 LeBron James would not have done the TV special. He wouldn't have used the oft-criticized phrase "taking [his] talents to South Beach." Would he have done the "not 6, not 7, etc.?" Probably, but he would have said it in a different way; you can't expect someone to say his team isn't going to win a championship. He wouldn't have done that awkward event in Miami with Bosh, Wade, and all the smoke. Okay, he might have still done that. But the point is that he's changed and matured a great deal since that, to a point in which most of the hate is unjustifiable.
LeBron left the team that gave him his start and was so good to him? No one batted an eye when Shaq signed as a free agent with the Lakers despite taking the Magic to an NBA Finals. No one bats an eye when players leave their universities that bring them so much fame after one year, even when they are taking less money than they'd be getting at Kentucky. Does it make a difference that LeBron James is from Ohio? I don't know, maybe. This is a guy who had spent his entire life in Ohio, never even going away to college or anything; I think it was about time he thought for himself and not for a bunch of people trying to live vicariously through him.
And now you want to hate him for saying he's going to win again. And this is different from Steph Curry saying the Warriors are going to win how? This is what we call bulletin board material, here, people, and guys like Durant, Paul George, and Chris Paul should be prepping to shove those words right back in his face. Otherwise, the casual fan shouldn't be using these words against his character; I don't want a player on my team who doesn't say he'll win another championship. It's not like he's saying this while playing for the Pistons or something.
I also think it's pretty damn funny that so many people who hate LeBron for going to Miami to win were wanting him to go and team up with Carmelo to win or to team up with Rose and Boozer. Hypocrisy at its finest.
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