NBA superstar LeBron James makes an emotional return to the city he spurned tomorrow when the Miami Heat visit Cleveland amid tighter security and a reception even James expects will be unwelcoming.
James, the reigning two-time NBA Most Valuable Player, departed the Cavaliers for Miami in July in a free agent deal announced on a television special, joining Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade in a gathering of talent at Miami.
Cavaliers supporters burned James jerseys in their anger. A baseball fan who attended a Cleveland Indians game while wearing a Heat jersey with James’ name on it had to be escorted out by police after being pelted with trash and beer.
So “King James” is well aware that his former subjects are serious about showing their displeasure.
“It’s going to be a real hostile environment,” James said. “It’s going to be pretty intense.”
A Twitter campaign to react to James’s introduction with laughter, like a Cleveland-area bishop’s preaching to show class and more kindness than James did on his departure, could tamp down the venom expected to greet the playmaker.
But Quicken Loans Arena has reminded the public that signs, clothing or verbal abuse featuring profanity will not be tolerated and extra security will be on hand to ensure decorum, even if a cascade of jeers are expected.
Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert described James as “selfish” and called his departure from the team a “cowardly betrayal.”
“You simply don’t deserve this kind of cowardly betrayal,” Gilbert said in the letter to the Cleveland fans. “You have given so much and deserve so much more. In the meantime, I want to make one statement to you tonight: I personally guarantee that the Cleveland Cavaliers will win an NBA championship before the self-titled former ‘King’ wins one. You can take it to the bank.”
“If you thought we were motivated before tonight to bring the hardware to Cleveland, I can tell you that this shameful display of selfishness and betrayal by one of our very own has shifted our ‘motivation’ to previously unknown and previously never experienced levels,” he said. “This shocking act of disloyalty from our home grown ‘chosen one’ sends the exact opposite lesson of what we would want our children to learn.”
Gilbert was fined US$100,000 by the NBA for his remarks and James fired back in an interview with GQ magazine, saying he will have extra motivation every time he plays against the Cavaliers.
“I do have motivation, a lot of motivation,” James said. “I don’t think [Gilbert] ever cared about LeBron.”
James said that he left US$30 million on the table by departing Cleveland, but that winning an NBA title was the most important thing and he felt he had a better chance of doing that with the Heat.
Thus far, neither club is doing all that well. The Heat are 10-8, third in the Southeast division and fifth in the Eastern Conference, while the Cavaliers are 7-9, third in the Central division and eighth in the Eastern Conference.
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