July 15, 2010
Mr. LeBron James
4157 Idlebrook Drive
Bath, Ohio 44210
When the Cleveland Cavaliers won the number one pick seven years ago and you declared entry into the NBA draft from Akron St. Vincent St. Mary, the most quintessential sports story was born. A local high school basketball star had the opportunity to write a sports story never quite seen before. Your Northeast Ohio community was starved for sports recognition. The region, like many other Rust Belt cities has seen its share of tough times beyond just sports. Economic downturns, demographic migrations and political crises have weighed heavy on all of us. Yet, the ethnic diversity, our perseverance and our hopeful nature created strength among us. Northeastern Ohio has always been one of the most generous cities in the country. With the Cleveland Cavaliers drafting you in the first round we felt a gift was given back to us. 
We watched you grow into a national sensation at Akron St. Vincent St. Mary. You seemed to carry yourself beyond your age and you sincerely seemed excited to accomplish something special in our hometown. All I could think about were the three L’s: LeBron, Legend, and Legacy. With LeBron we had a youthful child with seemingly endless determination, selflessness and talent to challenge the legends and legacies of past and present basketball greats such as Oscar Robinson, Bill Russell, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Kobe Bryant and even Michael Jordan.
A legacy is what someone is remembered for or what they have left behind that is remembered, revered and has even influenced current events beyond the present day.
A legend is someone who creates such a body of work that transcends all others and whose actions and stories are passed down in almost godlike form.
Clearly you have the talent and you HAD the opportunity to do something no other basketball player had before. On your way to individual greatness you had an opportunity to bring a first ever NBA championship to a city that has not experienced a major sports championship since 1964. Hollywood could not have written a better script. A hometown boy, turned hero, turned savior. However, something happened, or should I say something changed. Many of us will be left to speculate but only you and your mind, heart and soul will know.
One thing I can share with you about success at any level in any profession is that commitment and persistence are required characteristics. The late great John Wooden said, “It is in the journey that greater satisfaction is achieved.”
I also know that every choice has a balance. Some may call it pros and cons, while the more spiritually oriented will call it the ying and yang. Every individual has a right to choose whatever makes him happy in life. You apparently have and I do not fault you for that. You want to play with your friends in Miami and you want to win as many championships as possible. Your decision has clearly put you in that position. One of my questions to you is will you achieve the legendary status and the legacy that you want? I don’t see how that’s possible anymore.
If you decided to stay in Cleveland, it would have been more difficult to win a championship. I believe you would have. Michael Jordan took seven years and the addition of a few key players to bring a championship(s) to Chicago. He was determined, committed, and loyal and he persevered. He is now a basketball legend with a legacy in Chicago with no one to rival him. What legacy will you create in Miami? Will you be seen as Dwyane Wade’s, Scottie Pippen? Will Chris Bosh be seen as the team’s Horace Grant?
It just seems that you have traded a chance at immortality for the quick fix of championships. And if you are okay with that, then that is all that matters. You have to live with that just like everyone has to live with his or her own choices in life. But understand it has cost you.
You had godlike status in Ohio. You were adored like no other recent athlete has been. You had an organization that gave you everything you wanted. They catered to your every need: your family, your entourage and your friends. They built a state-of-the-art training facility that no other NBA team has purposely placed in a location convenient to your home. They considered your input in many operational aspects of the team at unheard of levels. Many of us “Johnny lunch buckets” only wish we had an employer willing to give 1% of what you had.
However, what upsets me the most is how naïve you think we all are. Three years ago you, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh signed three year extensions keeping your options open. You hid your clear desire to play with your friends by stating you wanted to see if our organization was as committed to winning a championship as you seemed to be. If only your’s and your buddies’ cell phones could talk. You want us to believe that the three of you did not conspire to make this plan a reality?
Many of us knew then, if the opportunity presented itself, you would leave Cleveland. Your body language and your choice of words clearly told us that you were not committed to our town, the organization, or the team. Sure you wanted to win, but it was merely to promote King James. If you were committed at any cost, you would have openly stated your intention and this would have totally changed the environment in which you, the team, and the organization would have had to operate. You would have signed a long term contract three years ago and the organization would not have had to operate in panic mode to please you.
Furthermore, you insult us by saying you gave everything possible to the team and our town. You were compensated as one of the highest-paid athletes to perform and you did. Many, including me, will give you that. But that is no different than our employers expecting us to give 100% every day we show up to work. Why would we expect any less from you?
Moreover, even with your iconic status you could play basketball for free with the amount of endorsement money you received. If you were willing to take the same pay cut as you are in Miami, our organization could have brought in even higher level talent to win in Cleveland. Unfortunately, with your three year signing, management was forced to make short-term decisions that were not in the long-term best interest of the team in order to supposedly keep you. This is even more of a fallacy because even if the team would have won, you would have left Cleveland.
All you, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh needed was a team that could accommodate your combined salary requirements under the salary cap. Congratulations! You and your buddies are in a great position to win many championships over the next six years! Unfortunately, having everyone in the organization believing you would be returning and carrying on the self promoting side show, you embarrassed yourself and everyone that supported you since high school. This self promotion showed no respect to your hometown fans, our city, and the organization that catered to you. Now, the organization is left out on a limb with few options to better themselves through free agency or to make a trade to help the team. Why could you not just be honest and tell us you were unlikely to sign with Cleveland if you were able to have a team accommodate you, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh?
We are thankful for the many thrills you provided us over the years. The only disappointment I had in watching you play was in the Boston series. Clearly, as the team leader you quit playing. Many of the greats have mentioned before to never quit a game. Winning in small market towns is possible. Teams in the past have done it! Tim Duncan who had a chance to land a big free agent contract with Orlando showed loyalty and commitment to San Antonio (small market town) and was rewarded with more championships.
You will go down as one of the greatest players in NBA history, statistically speaking. Even so, the characteristics of greatness are not just measured in numbers or even championship rings; however, character, loyalty, commitment, integrity and perseverance are. Clearly, athletes, especially those who are at the top of their respective sports, are placed on a higher pedestal and thus, more is expected. But the truly great ones do not ever disappoint. There is a unique and special relationship between the players and the fans that goes beyond any business. The business of sports has made it much harder for fans to hold onto their players for as long as possible and that’s unfortunate.
But many confuse the facts, saying that it is how business is done and that it’s not personal but simple business. That is so wrong. Any successful business owner will tell you that business is about relationships – personal relationships. We do business with people we trust. We do business with people we like and we do business to create mutual benefit – not just additive, but exponential. I really do not believe you and your business advisors fully understand that. Life is full of hard lessons and at 25 you are an adult. Only the future will allow us to look back and assess what this all means.
If I had a crystal ball based on my years of business experience, I would say you will look back and regret that you quit. There might be greatness, but the legend died leaving no legacy. Art Modell was unfortunately pushed into the decision to leave Cleveland. He never really wanted to make that decision and if he could change things, he would have never left Cleveland. We have an incredible loyal fan base and he knew that.
Bernie Kosar was an excellent quarterback in his heyday but never a superstar or a Hall of Fame quarterback, yet he is still revered in Cleveland. He arranged to play for Cleveland. He loved playing for this city and never wanted to play for anyone else. When he was ridden out of town by then coach Belichick, he landed with the Dallas Cowboys and won a Super Bowl ring. I am sure the ring felt good to Bernie, but if you asked him, he would rather have finished his career in Cleveland and done whatever he could to bring a championship to this town.
Unfortunately there are few second chances and it is unlikely you will catch this magic in a bottle again.
Sincerely,
Frank Fantozzi, President
CPA, MT, PFS, CDFA, AIF
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