LeBron James and Alex Rodriguez: Same Man, Different Sport
As Alex Rodriguez approaches the least talked about 600th home run in history, people point out that it isn’t legitimate because he used steroids and because he is a “cheater.”
A-Rod is someone who seems to be a lightning rod for controversy, regardless of his talent.
He is a 12-time All-Star and the youngest player to hit 500 homers. But people still only think of him as the guy who slapped the ball out of a first baseman’s hand, screamed at a third baseman who was trying to catch a pop-up, and as the guy who ran across Dallas Braden’s mound.
Every time A-Rod is in the news, there seems to be a negative twist to the story.
In that regard, he is now similar to LeBron James.
Ever since James decided to take part in “The Decision,” he has been cast in a negative light.
There is no debating his talent. He was the NBA Rookie of the Year and has gone on to become a two-time MVP, six-time All-Star, and two-time All-Star Game MVP. However, he is beginning to become a player who is publicly perceived in a negative light, no matter how great his accomplishments may be.
James’ perception took a major hit by the way he handled the free agency process. People began to hate him and turned on the superstar they once loved. Jerseys were burned and billboards were taken down.
Today, James took out a full-page ad in the Akron Beacon Journal in an attempt to help his image and maintain a relationship with his hometown of Akron.
Unfortunately, there were two problems with the ad, problems that will not help James.
The ad came two days after Zydrunas Ilgauskas published an ad thanking the city of Cleveland and the Cavaliers’ fans for his time in Cleveland.
LeBron’s offering—because it came so soon after Ilgauskas’—makes it seem like he saw the other ad and thought it would be a good idea. LeBron appears to have copied his teammate’s idea rather than to have sincerely thank his hometown.
The other glaring problem with the ad is that it is specific to the city of Akron.
LeBron never mentions the city of Cleveland. As if he hadn’t humiliated them enough during “The Decision,” James now hurt Cleveland more by deliberately ignoring its citizens.
LeBron James has now become a target for sports fans and media alike.
It is unclear what it will take for him to revive his image. Even an NBA championship will more than likely draw the criticism of him being a sidekick to Dwyane Wade.
