Cliff Lee-Bron?

[IrishCanadian25]

So let's recap. Everyone please open your workbooks to page 22.

The Similarities

Cliff Lee: top free agent on the market this year, took his time to draw the best possible deal for himself.

LeBron James: top free agent on the market this year, took his time to draw the best possible deal for himself.

Cliff Lee: eventually took less money to play where he wanted to play.

LeBron James: eventually took less money to play where he wanted to play.

Cliff Lee: joined a team with a championship framework because it likely gives him the best chance to win multiple titles.

LeBron James: joined a team with a championship framework because it likely gives him the best chance to win multiple titles.

The Differences

Cliff Lee: made his decision quietly and announced it around midnight on a Monday evening after informing the other teams in the running for him that he would be going elsewhere.

LeBron James: made his decision on a nationally televised ESPN special after telling nobody anything, including his former team.

Cliff Lee: went about his business normally.

LeBron James: used the buzz around his choice to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for a local Boys and Girls Club sorely in need of the funding during tough economic times.

Cliff Lee: fairly popular, or at least respected and let be.

LeBron James: respected as a basketball player but generally disliked according to all recent polls, which show LBJ is less popular than even Ben Roethlisberger.

Cliff Lee: white.

LeBron James: black.



So after doing basically the same thing with the noted exception of the ESPN special and the charitable work, Cliff Lee is still respected and his decision is not drawing ANY of the backlash LeBron's did.

Why?

1. What effect do you think the televised special is having on LeBron's image vs Lee's?

2. What effect do you think the act of informing / not informing other teams prior to announcing the decision is having on LeBron's image vs Lee's?

3. What effect, if any, do you think race is having on LeBron's image vs Lee's?

4. What effect, if any, do you think the respective sports both men play is having on LeBron's image vs Lee's?

 

[klunderbunker]

The key difference is the TV Special. Lee's news breaks int he middle of the night with no fanfare or buildup at all. He just signed and it was over. Lebron comes off like he's shouting LOOK AT ME LOOK AT ME! The charity work is nice, but Lebron could just as easily have cut a check and it would have been over and done with.

That's what this comes down to for me: the attention that Lebron brought to it. His signing was a huge deal indeed, but that was ALL you could see on ESPN for days. If you didn't like it, too bad because King James had decided he wanted to control ESPN's programming for that night. In short, what gives him the right to do that? Why should I want to watch an hour long special where it's nothing but kissing Lebron's ass until he signs with the Heat?

As far as race, not much really. If it had been reversed I would have had the same reaction to it. Lee comes off as mature and collected while Lebron looks like a guy that is only interested in the spotlight.

Not telling the Cavs was a big deal. Did he have to do it? Of course not. Would it have been a nice courtesy? Yes. That's the thing: it came off like Lebron was all in this for himself and didn't care at all about what might happen to someone else. Again, he didn't have to do that but look at how it presents him: a spoiled, self-obsessed guy that is better than everyone else and DESERVES all this attention. He couldn't have slipped a text to the Cavs owner earlier that day or even before the special came on to say thanks for the time and opportunity you gave me but I'm going to try my luck somewhere else? Just comes off as rude which is compounded by the TV things again.

As for the sport, it makes a difference too. Baseball is far more of a team sport, which means Lee is a piece to the puzzle, not a centerpiece. He's going to be an asset, but not the star of the team. The opposite is true for Lebron, which doesn't really hurt him nearly as much as the other issues.

In general, the problem comes down to Lebron's TV Special. It's total overkill and flat out didn't need to happen. Do you really think there wouldn't be a dozen cameras wherever he was when he announced it? Did we really need an hour to devote to this? It's a single signing of a player, not a title win or a big tragic event. A guy that has never won a title is signing with a new team. That's it. How does that warrant a TV special? It doesn't which is where the difference lies.

 

[Avrusha92]

First off I love this thread, Now to discuss this.

As a point of respect, I feel Cliff Lee made his decision respectively compared to LeBron's decision.

Now I have to agree with KB:

Lebrons Decision: It was pretty damn low, this was the most talked about decision for years, a year back they were talking about how LeBron was dreaming of playing in a big city etc. but with the Knicks sucking that year, LeBron was the ultimate opportunist here and went for a team that could actually win the championships, rather than helping out a team that struggles to get into the playoffs.

See IC, you said that LeBron went to a team he wanted to play in? Im pretty sure LeBron wanted to play in the big city of New York, but LeBron did come out as a fake phony fraud to me, as he was acting that he loves NY and loves the garden etc.

then he takes an hour of our time just to make a decision? seems pretty egoistical to me, as LeBron really feels he is the king.

Now to discuss Cliff Lee, Im not so upset at the fact that he chose his team, because he did it respectively. Id love him to play in New York, but Im not so pissed off.

But you could compare the two in a way, but LeBron comes out more egoistic, and not respectful to both his former team, and his fans.

PS: I hear LeBron is having problems with the Coach already, good luck having a team with the three ball hoggers: Wade, Bosch, and James.

 

[Rhonda Rousey's Sports Bra]

Knew someone was going to say this, but you really don't need to look at black and white to see why there's a difference. LeBron was the Cleveland Cavaliers, Lee was basically the man everyone wanted but got rid of for the past few seasons. He was a man without a home so him going somewhere wasn't as big of a deal as someone spitting in their home's face. Lee also turned down the Evil Empire where as LeBron went to create an Evil Empire. It's not a race issue at all.

 

[Big Sexy]

Race has jack shit to do with this issue. There is one HUGE difference in the two decisions that really makes this thread almost irrelevant. LeBron James is from the state of Ohio and played his first 7 seasons in Cleveland. He was drafted there, loved by the city, and seen as their only hope.

Cliff Lee played just half of a season in Texas. Let me repeat that, HALF of a season. He isn't from Texas, he wasn't the teams only hope, and obviously he went about his business quietly and not in front of a national TV audience. Texas is not as good without Lee but they can still compete in their division. Losing Lee hurts but it isn't the end of the world.

Let's also not forget that Cliff Lee has just as close of ties to Philly as he does to Texas. He played the second half of the 2009 season in Philadelphia and led them to a World Series just like he did one year later in Texas. It's not like he picked some random team that has no relationship with him whatsoever.

I'm not trying to shit on this thread but the ONLY similarity between Lee, LeBron, and their decisions is the fact that they were both the biggest names in their respective sports free agent markets. Once again, race and all that is completely irrelevant.

 

[People's Champ]

Big Sexy is right in that there are really no similarities between these two. LeBron was the savior for Cleveland fans, and for that city. He grew up there, was practically worshiped there. He talked about how he was going to bring that city a championship. Then he went and took his talent to South Beach. And on the way out slapped everyone in the face with that special. That's why he was killed. Again, he was/is hated in Cleveland because he left and how he left, and is looked at badly by the rest of the country, not because he left, but the way he did.

Cliff Lee has no ties to the Rangers. He never talked about bringing a championship there. He was traded for during the season. He didn't have some hour long special for his decision. This is practically the exact opposite of the LeBron situation. There is no comparision here.

 

[gd]

I know you love arguing the race issue IC, but it simply isn't a factor here. There are more important differences between Lee and LeBron. For one, baseball isn't nearly as popular a sport and Lee isn't nearly as big of a star. It's the difference between the a top 10 or so player in the #3 sport and arguably the best player in the #2 sport.

The whole thing with LeBron leaving his hometown after 7 straight years is also completely different than Lee, who had only been with the Rangers for half a season, signing with a new team. Moreso, Lee didn't appear to completely quit on his team and disappear during a huge playoff game.

The TV special was a huge deal as well, as I've said before, likely the biggest reason for all the LeBron hate. Going to a stacked team is different in both cases as well. The quality of the Phillies' rotation really has no effect on how Lee pitches since baseball is such an individual sport. In LeBron's case, the fact that he went to Miami to play with Wade meant that his whole game would basically change and that he wouldn't have to be the guy anymore.

Overall, it's really just a completley different situation. I see where you're coming from, but it's just not the same and race certainly isn't the issue.