LeBron James is a Coward

I am shocked.

All day yesterday, ESPN was reporting that LeBron James was leaning towards Miami. Chris Broussard, the man of many sources, said it would definitely be Miami. Stephen A. Smith was the first to say this, and "It's not a theory." They were both proven right.

I am still shocked.

LeBron said he wants to win, and win now. In his mind, this gives him the best opportunity to do that, teaming up with two other top 10 players. Teaming up with an already proven winner in Dwyane Wade. Teaming up with a legendary coach in Pat Riley, whether he stays in the front office or goes down to the bench.

I am shocked.

In this one move, LeBron decided to settle with being Scottie Pippen instead of striving to be Michael Jordan. MJ is regarded as the best to ever play, and LeBron was supposed to surpass him. In choosing Miami, LeBron threw in the towel. He went to a team with an already established superstar and though his star will continue to shine, because he still has the best athletic ability on the court, he lost the respect of many people in numerous cities.

New York and Chicago hate him. Chicago was a rival to LeBron, but he fueled their anger by stringing them into the fray. New York hates him for choosing to have his announcement in Connecticut, minutes from the Knicks' practice facility. Nets and Clippers' fans probably hate him just for not choosing their team.

Most of all though, he became the most hated fan in Cleveland. A town that loves their teams, even when their teams don't reciprocate the love. He surpassed Art Moddell by abandoning his home. He might as well moved the Cavaliers out of state because by leaving, he moved them out of the playoffs.

It would have been different if Wade chose to leave the Heat and play with the Bulls. Miami isn't his home, even though he is beloved there. Those fans would be more understanding to his decision to live and play closer to his family.

Doing this to NY, NJ, LA, and Chicago is heartless. He, Wade, and Bosh knew all along how this would play out. He didn't need to create this drama and break people's hearts. He didn't need to turn Cleveland around and stab them in the back. He could have said from the beginning that there was a pact made to play together.

He successfully turned away any fans he had in those markets, and I don't see how his marketing team sees the bright side to alienating five different fan bases. His "brand" took a blow tonight and I don't understand their thought process.

The Heat are definitely now a contender. But they have a young coach, and no supporting cast. When Boston signed the Big Three, they still needed the support from the rest of their team to win. The Heat aren't even close to filling out their roster. At this point they'll struggle to be the top four in the East, let alone win the trophy. Orlando, Atlanta, Boston, and Chicago have established teams. Miami can crack into that, but they'll need help.

Even as a Knicks fan, I wanted LeBron to stay in Cleveland. He meant too much to that city, and would have become immortal if he actually brought that city a championship. Though this is a different age than when he played, we like to think Jordan would not have thrown in the towel and signed with Detroit.

So LeBron is not brave for taking a challenge to sacrifice his stats to get some rings with Wade and Bosh. He is a coward for giving up on the bigger challenge to bring those rings to Cleveland.

And I am shocked.