LeBron James: His Justification of 'The Decision' in GQ Falls on Deaf Ears

Don’t blame this one on his posse.

ESPN had nothing to do with it and neither did Jim Gray, Maverick Carter, or any of LeBron James’ other “business” partners.

This is completely on LeBron.

In GQ’s September issue, the magazine will run an in-depth interview with LeBron about his decision to leave Cleveland for the Miami Heat, how he decided to announce his decision, Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert’s comments, and other things.

It’s too bad, however, that LeBron has lost the attention of the nation, which is worse than how he lost the nation’s respect when he went forward with "The Decision." At least people listened then.

Oh, we hear what LeBron has to say, which is why fans are talking about this magazine interview. We just aren’t listening. There’s a difference. 

When LeBron sat in front of millions on ESPN, looked like a scared kid, and said he was “taking [his] talents to South Beach,” many people rushed to blame his agent, his family, and all his other close friends that reportedly had a say in the decision.

How could they let LeBron do this? How could they allow him to make the worst PR move in years? Excuses and scapegoats for LeBron popped up everywhere. 

His jerseys burned in the streets. His image was cursed in bars. His name was altered forever.

The only thing that followed was one nasty letter from Gilbert—which made him look just as idiotic—and weeks of people harping on LeBron and turning him into America’s newest pariah. James went from being loved nationally to being scorned internationally.

People took shots at LeBron. He posted on Twitter that he was “taking mental notes” of all the people who fired away.

LeBron wanted us to believe that we were adding fuel to his fire, that for once he would create the chip on his shoulder necessary to morph into the ruthless champion that Michael Jordan was and Kobe Bryant currently is.

It was a joke then, and it is even more comical now. We’ll believe it when we see it, LeBron.

Which is why the GQ interview is simply the next decision in a long line of poor ones.

LeBron opened up like he needed to justify why he decided to join the Heat instead of heading back to Cleveland.

He tried to build up excuses for suddenly not loving Cleveland as much as the state of Ohio hoped he did, instead of simply saying that it was a career decision he felt he needed to make.

“Clevelanders, because they were the bigger-city kids when we were growing up, looked down on us,” LeBron told GQ. “So we didn’t actually like Cleveland. We hated Cleveland growing up. There’s a lot of people in Cleveland we still hate to this day.”

LeBron wasn’t referring to Gilbert when he said that, but his disdain for his former owner still seeped out.

“I don’t think he ever cared about LeBron,” LeBron said. “My mother always told me: ‘You will see the light of people when they hit adversity. You’ll get a good sense of their character.’ Me and my family have seen the character of that man.”

Some will say that character isn’t actually LeBron’s strength, but that’s unfair. LeBron isn’t a bad guy, but he continues to show his immaturity. This interview—let alone "The Decision"—is childish and more self-serving than anything.

When asked about his comment last season that he “spoiled” Cleveland with his play, LeBron didn’t back off the statement. He only added to it.

“I mean, even my family gets spoiled at times watching me doing things that I do, on and off the court,” LeBron said.

Clevelanders may have a different take, especially considering how so many rushed to say James “quit” against the Celtics in the playoffs and mailed it in during the waning seconds of Game Six.

LeBron had memorable playoff moments in Cleveland but nothing that led to a ring. For years, LeBron supporters pointed to his lack of quality teammates.

Those voices have quieted, and the only one still talking is LeBron.

Talking himself up, talking about why he needed to leave the Cavs, talking about why everybody criticizing him is wrong, talking about what he’s going to do with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami. Just talking.

LeBron wants fans to listen to him, but what he doesn’t realize is that we are all tired of his voice. We don’t want to hear anything else.

The only thing we want LeBron to do is go play. Take your mental notes and go compete.

Let's see if LeBron really is as good as he thinks he is. Until now, he hasn’t been. He’s not “spoiling” anybody. He only continues to annoy with every new public comment.

In recent years, LeBron has been labeled as a guy more concerned with building his brand and becoming a billionaire than winning basketball games. When June rolls around, it seems LeBron would rather be on the cover of Forbes Magazine than Sports Illustrated.

Is that a fair label of the guy? Maybe. Maybe not. 

Fortunately for LeBron, he has the opportunity to write his own answer to that question. But sitting down with magazines, going on TV shows, and continuing to beg people to listen to him will never get it done.

It looks like he wants to only stroke his ego.

In the GQ interview, LeBron talks about possibly returning to Cleveland someday to play for the Cavs and what a “great story” it would be.

Forget about that because those years came and went.

If LeBron is concerned with writing a good story, his own story, he will return to the court this fall and play basketball like he’s never played it before.

He won’t talk about his “mental notes,” he’ll just carry them out.

Until then, we won’t believe there even were any notes.

For better or worse, LeBron’s future is finally on LeBron and nobody else.

Follow Teddy Mitrosilis on Twitter. You can reach him at [e-mail].