When asked that night what team he had chosen, Leo did not answer, "I've chosen Cleveland," or even, "I'll be proud to play for the Miami Heat." He answered, "I'm gonna take my talents to South Beach" -- suggesting that it was 1) more about his talent than anything and 2) time to get set for a party, because South Beach is not where the Heat plays, but it is open all night.
So after an hour's indulgence for this "revelation" (remember, Michael Jordan came out of retirement with a two-word news release: "I'm back"), fans -- black, white and brown -- looked around and said, "Can you believe Leo's ego?"
Because ego knows no color.
Whether it's Leo or LeBron.
An inconvenient truth
LeBron's popularity dropped steadily after that event. And recently it was announced that he was the sixth-most disliked athlete, according to the latest Q Score. Now, I don't put much stock in polls. But LeBron didn't become internationally famous with only black fans liking him, and he didn't reach this sudden infamy with only white fans bailing out.
In fact, to suggest that white people have some groupthink approach is racist in and of itself. And you see where this goes. The moment you suggest someone is motivated by a prejudice, you can never prove it wrong, and you can always attack the accuser.
So the Rev. Jesse Jackson can claim Dan Gilbert, the Cleveland owner, views LeBron as a "runaway slave" and LeBron's business manager, Maverick Carter, who orchestrated the public relations fiasco, can claim race "definitely played a role" -- and because we are so conditioned to take racist charges seriously, it all distracts from the painfully obvious truth, which is this:
LeBron now has a boundless ego, he has surrounded himself with people who tell him his feet don't touch the ground, and he can't possibly be at fault for anything.
By the way, there was similar vitriol toward Brett Favre after he left Green Bay. Ego. Money. Why didn't CNN ask Favre if it was about race?
There is never a clear way out of this mess. But there is one way to avoid jumping in it. Stop asking the question. If people shamefully want to grab race as a parachute to safety, they'll do it. You don't have to pull the cord.