LeBron James’s The Decision spectacle briefly made him a public villain.

Evidence

In 2003, James was the number-one pick in the NBA draft, joining his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers. His Nike contract dwarfed his rookie salary, and he quickly became one of the league’s top players, earning accolades and the adoration of fans. That goodwill evaporated in 2010 when James, as a free agent, produced a reality TV show, The Decision, to announce his next team. With celebrities lingering off-camera (including a napping Kanye), James declared, “I’m going to take my talents to South Beach”—that is, join the Miami Heat. He was as good as dead to Cleveland fans; the Cavaliers’ owner called him a “coward.” The broader public found the spectacle self-indulgent. As journalist Ian Crouch noted, James was seen “if not as an outright villain, then at least a dogged and self-serious mercenary.” — W. David Marx, Blank Space, 330

Categorization

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