High Road Hijinx: The Tragic Fall of LeBron James and Dan Gilbert

The high road.

It’s a phrase that’s tossed around by one’s parents and friends growing up. If someone is chastising you or a friend, take the high road by choosing ignorance over retaliation.

The high road, according to thefreedictionary.com, actually has two definitions.

The first is the “easiest or surest path or course”.

Part two of the explanation is “most positive, diplomatic, or ethical course”.

Let’s rewind for a second and look at some stone-cold facts. Last night, we witnessed a television spectacle (or debacle) for the ages. LeBron James officially spurned his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers to join Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, and Pat Riley in Miami.

Shortly thereafter, Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert released a scathing letter essentially tearing James apart sentence by sentence, occasionally with his thoughts scribed in all capitalization.

No mistake about it, LeBron fits definition No. 1. He took what to him is the easiest and surest path to an NBA championship, something that escaped him during his seven years in Cleveland. However, he did so in a manner befitting a diva NFL wide receiver.

We began to see the self-absorbed side of LeBron emerge in November 2008 at Madison Square Garden when he proclaimed that “July 1, 2010, is going to be a big day.”

We witnessed his lackluster playoff performances this year and then his gall to take free agency questions during the postgame interviews after Cleveland lost Game Six of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

“Me and my team, we have a game plan that we'll execute and we'll see where we're at.”

His “team” was largely led by LeBron’s admitted “right-hand man” and childhood buddy Maverick Carter, who arranged for the Bulls, Cavs, Clippers, Heat, Knicks, and Nets to meet with James in Cleveland last week. It was also Carter who collaborated with reporter Jim Gray to create “The Decision”.

What LeBron should have done was follow definition No. 2. He should have simply issued a press release thanking his teammates, the Cavs, and their fans for the past seven years, but saying simply that he had to move on.

Now? To both irrational and rational Cleveland enthusiasts, LeBron has probably burned every possible bridge.

Dan Gilbert also took definition No. 1 in his response to LeBron. The following are some sections from what has become known as, "The Letter."

"[Cavs fans] simply don't deserve this kind of cowardly betrayal."

"This shocking act of disloyalty from our home grown 'chosen one' sends the exact opposite lesson of what we would want our children to learn. And "who" we would want them to grow-up to become."

"The self-declared former 'King' will be taking the 'curse' with him down south. And until he does 'right' by Cleveland and Ohio, James (and the town where he plays) will unfortunately own this dreaded spell and bad karma."

Gilbert further said to the AP in a phone interview, "He has gotten a free pass. People have covered up for (James) for way too long. Tonight we saw who he really is."

We also found out who you truly are, Mr. Gilbert. I find it hard to fathom that Mr. Gilbert wasn’t also an enabler of LeBron. He didn’t allow LeBron’s cronies to ride along on the team jet and didn’t construct the team’s practice facility closer to LeBron’s Akron home? Give me a break.

Let's also not forget who hired a rookie head coach (Mike Brown) and rookie general manager (Danny Ferry) that both failed stand up to LeBron while also failing to surround him with elite players. 

Gilbert should have heeded the second definition and simply said, "I wish LeBron all the best."

Now, he’s partly responsible for an unprecedented fan uproar in Cleveland. He has not only come off as unprofessional and a petty brat, but has further devalued his franchise by letting it be known to other players that he’s not afraid to completely trash them in front of the entire world.

What Gilbert said about LeBron seemed almost devoid of human emotion.

The "most positive, diplomatic or ethical course" is hardly ever easy, yet rarely wrong in the end. 

These two gentlemen could use a lesson in attitude altitude.