To: LeBron James...From: A Cleveland Sports Sympathizer

Dear Mr. James,

I have purposely waited until after all of the fans, writers, and general public got their feelings out to you, with about 95% of them being incredibly negative. Are my feelings similar? For the most part, but I think this will be by far the longest and most extensive piece on you that anyone has written about your recent decision. Before I continue, you should know that I am not a Cleveland Cavalier fan, but I do sympathize with the city and their situation as I lived there for four years.

First off, I understand why you made the decision to leave Cleveland and go to Miami. It’s nicer, more fun, has no state taxes, and it’s a much bigger market for you to sell yourself. Yet I know that these were not your main reason for leaving. You see, I know about how you were in high school; about how your AAU team essentially picked a school to go to because you were the stud and didn’t want to leave your friends for possibly greener pastures.

Insecurity is okay at that age and so is wanting to stay with your friends. You’re still incredibly insecure, which is why you wanted to go play with your buds down in Miami who are about as talented as you are, and also why your supposed “support group” are a bunch of your friends who are too young and blinded by your spotlight to realize when you’re making a huge mistake. So, you’ve decided to sacrifice glory, a possibly historic legacy, and becoming the billionaire you’ve dreamed your whole life for in exchange for friendship. That might fly in a Disney movie, but it sure as heck doesn’t fly here.

Wait, you still think you can become a billionaire? See, this isn’t happening solely because of your decision. See, if and when you win titles, you won’t be similar to how Jordan and Kobe won them. It’ll be your boys, specifically D-Wade, who will be viewed as carrying the team. Because it is HIS team. Not yours.

You didn’t bring Wade and Bosh to Miami, Wade brought you and Bosh to him. He’s won a championship without you, so therefore, you need him more than he needs you. And maybe you’re okay with that. Just know that for that exact reason, your “brand” will not be as great as you hoped it would be. You won’t be the one winning those titles, being the best player on the team, it’ll be you, Wade, and Bosh, the Three Amigos.

If you had really wanted to become that billionaire, there’s one place you should have gone, and that’s Chicago. Win there and you’re the best player on the team. Sure, Rose and Boozer are good, but they’re not on your level the way Wade is. Win titles there and it’s YOUR team, in the third biggest market in the country, on a team everyone knows because of what MJ did.

And what would happen if you won five or six titles with them? You would not only be in the same discussion as MJ, but there would be arguments that you were better than him. And unlike a year or two ago when it was being tossed around, in this situation it would actually be reasonable. One could make the case that because you had that much pressure to live up to MJ’s expectations by playing in his city, that because you reached that, therefore due to the added pressure and with the lack of Phil Jackson, you have surpassed him. But no. You decided to sacrifice what could’ve been to play with a couple friends.

Jordan would’ve never done that, and you know it. He had that killer instinct. And you know what? I don’t think you have that killer instinct. There was all this talk about how in these playoffs you were different. No smiles, no joking, just that supposed killer instinct we had seen glimpses of, but never a sustained stretch.

How did the playoffs go this year, again? O, you mean you guys lost in the second round because a certain “King” played like a pauper? See, that’s when I lost all my respect for you. You quit against the Celtics, particularly in Game 5, and you know it.

Don’t act like the whole world didn’t understand, that it was just one of those nights. I’ve seen Allen Iverson and Kobe have nights like you described. Only difference is, they didn’t walk around acting like they didn’t care. No, they still hustled and tried to win, even if it was a regular season game.

I had supported you ever since I saw the greatest basketball game I’ve ever witnessed in person: your overtime win over Columbus Brookhaven eight years ago in Value City Arena in Columbus. I will never forget that game for as long as I live. I still remember watching you and Drew Lavendar go at it at the end of quarters. Then, in one game, it was all gone. You quit on the team that night, and with this decision, you quit on your legacy, your hometown, and your fans. I don’t support athletes, or even people who do that. You are no exception.

As many people have said, it wasn’t that you left, it was how you left. The special on ESPN was an absolute train wreck in every possible way. That show humiliated all of Ohio, not just Cleveland. Couldn’t you have just sent out a statement, or had a small press conference announcing you were leaving instead of waiting all this time to leave Cleveland with a bullet through their chest?

And what was that crap about “true fans”? Did you not watch how Brett Favre was killed by saying the exact same thing when he went to Minnesota? I mean, come on!!!! Do you not pay attention to anything that doesn’t involve you?!! What you need to understand is that everyone is a “true fan”. There is no definition for how a fan should feel when their favorite player on their favorite team runs away from something that’s too hard for him to accomplish. You were their one hope for a championship. How are they supposed to feel? Happy?

When you announced that you were holding a special on ESPN, most people in Cleveland were happy because their reasoning was something along the lines of, “no person would announce on this grandiose a stage that they were leaving their hometown unless they were either Satan or had no idea what they were doing”. I lean toward the latter part. You clearly had no idea what you were doing.

Let me be very clear. They will never forgive you. Every time you come into that building, you will witness something that you could never imagine. You may get shot at. Your life will be on the line every single time you step foot into Cleveland. They don’t like people who screw them over, and they don’t like cowards who crumble because they can’t take the heat.

Yes, you are a coward. A massive coward for not trying to finish what you started. Your reasoning was garbage, about how you didn’t want to wind up at 31 with bad knees and no rings. Would you like to know why you failed to win a championship? Aside from the debacle that was the Larry Hughes signing, it was your lack of commitment. Because you refused to give them any sort of commitment, Ferry had to assemble parts through trades and adding salary. He couldn’t bide his time and work through the draft or shed some contracts in order to pick up a guy via free agency like what Sam Presti is doing with Kevin Durant and the Thunder. He had to work short term, hoping to get the right parts to fit with you.

Would you like to know who fit your description of 31 with bad knees and no rings? Kevin Garnett: the exact opposite of who you are. This man had no supporting cast in Minnesota, yet gave it his all night in and night out no matter what the stakes were. He was a warrior who never said a bad thing about his situation. He kept his mouth shut off the court and played ball. That’s why when he left, their fans didn’t hate him the way Cleveland will despise you. They were sad he left, sure, but he tried his best, and the fans knew it. Cleveland cannot say the same about you.

And what happened to KG? O yeah, he beat you in seven games to win a title and then beat you again in six to make it to another finals. He’ll go down as one of the top 3 power forwards ever and in the top 25 all-time. Had you stayed another six years and not won, no one in Cleveland would have blamed you for leaving. You would’ve given a GM years to make the necessary moves to give you the best chance to win. Then you could leave and go win a title with a contender, still as either the best or second best player on that team. You would probably go down as the second best small forward in history behind Larry Bird and possibly top 10 ever. That’ll be much better than maybe cracking the top 20 as the greatest second fiddle ever.

So good luck with this decision, Mr. James. Regardless, it’s going to be fun watching you and your boys try to rule the NBA. I hope you average a triple-double for a season, win a couple more MVP’s, and never win a championship. Cowards and quitters should not be rewarded with such things as greatness.

Sincerely,

Andy Brown