NBA's Heated Homecoming: Cavaliers Owner Dan Gilbert's Letter To Cleveland

With less than one week until LeBron James’ heavily anticipated return to Cleveland in a Miami Heat jersey, I thought it necessary to reflect on the critical events that brought us here.

One thing you've got to admire about Cleveland is their resiliency.  Only a city so devoid of personal triumph can embody such a trait while its character remains strong.

Cleveland's toughness comes from the fact that they don't take anything laying down, not to mention the crappy weather.  Cav's owner Dan Gilbert's enraged response to "The Decision" was simple proof of just that. 

Throwing caution and discretion to the wind, Gilbert kept the media frenzy, sparked by the decision, spinning out of control with his almost immediate response to what was described as an act of betrayal.

James was to take his talents to South Beach to play with the Miami Heat, but not before being chased out of town with a pitchfork disguised as a 400+ word e-mail to the city of Cleveland.

In the capitalized (at spots) tirade, Cavs owner Gilbert accused James of quitting in the playoffs against the Celtics, a sentiment that just hours prior Cleveland natives would only think to themselves.

Gilbert compared James to a curse, and called the former King of Cleveland disloyal and cowardly all while promising the city of Cleveland an NBA Championship someday.

The hatred that spilled through each carefully emphasized word of the e-rant was so powerful, it was even interpreted by some as racism.

Jesse Jackson lead the random, yet understandable, civil rights charge against Gilbert, as he accused him of seeing James as a "runaway slave."

Gilbert's outrage at the fact that one of his own would betray him so, by exercising his rights as a free agent, justified Jacksons' accusations in some ways. 

But race did not seem to be as dominating a factor in how James was now received by the general media as timing.

Looking at the situation from Gilbert's point of view, one can easily see an instance of poor timing and inconvenience as the Cavs organization was left with little time to rebound from James' exit. (both from a personnel standpoint and emotionally)

The free agent market was basically dried up by the time James had publicly punched Cleveland in the stomach in July.

Gilbert's newsworthy letter to James was a prelude to a budding rivalry between Cleveland and James that has yet to see what is sure to be a thrilling climax.

Follow Big Nasty on twitter at twitter.com/ThisIsNasty.