No Drama

9 July 2010



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LeBron James Botches Miami Announcement

For those disinterested in the World Cup, the great sporting issue of the day has been "Where will LeBron James play in next year's NBA season?" Several franchises auditioned for the privilege of paying him millions. In the end, he chose Miami and announced it on an hour-long broadcast on ESPN. It was one of the most badly handled statements in ages.

First off, several people with some kind of inside information had leaked the decision to the press thus robbing the broadcast of any sense of drama. Had the people in charge had any clue about how to handle this, they either needed to ensure no one leaked (unlikely) or to get several competing leaks to the media (quite easily done). The whole point is to keep the public interested and unsure of the outcome so that more commercials get sold by the network.

Second, Mr. James himself rather ruined the entire effort by choosing to leave Cleveland. This has nothing to do with basketball and everything to do with turning this event into an annual exercise. As things stand, he will make a multi-year deal with the Heat, and that will end the speculation. Had he been truly crafty, he would have announced that he was extending his stay in Cleveland for one year only. At very least, it would have given basketball fans another year to wallow in the story.

Third, the large-headed interviewer asked the big question just 10 minutes into a 60-minute TV program. Other reality shows (and that's really all this was) understand that no one gets voted off the island or kicked off the stage until the last few minutes. Imagine if "American Idol" announced the season's winner 10 minutes into the first episode. Ratings would tumble and the network would have to hire real writers and actors to fill the gap in the schedule.

Frankly, one almost wishes that his announcement focused on his decision to quit the NBA and pursue an NCAA title at the University of Connecticut, Howard University or UC Santa Cruz. After all, he never went to college, so he has 4 years of eligibility. And he could probably get whatever waivers the NCAA may have for pros who want to play college ball; think of the money it would generate. And as a multi-bazillionaire, he wouldn't even need a scholarship or student loan. Moreover, every year the media could be marched out again to see if Mr. James would drop out in yet another ESPN extravaganza. Sad how many opportunities were lost.

© Copyright 2010 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Ubuntu Linux.

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