LeBron James learned a lot of valuable lessons from The Decision. He learned, for instance, that teaming up with two other All Stars and future Hall of Famers will net you a couple of championships.
He also learned that he’s not quite suited to be a villain. Understandably, there was a lot of animosity toward him among Clevelanders after his high-profile departure in 2010, a lot of which crossed the line from “all in good fun” to downright scary at times.
Take this story, for instance, that he told recently in a video segment for UNINTERRUPTED. Upon his initial return to Cleveland as a member of the Heat in December of 2010, there was a lot of negative energy, not just inside the arena, but all across town. And LeBron encountered that first-hand in a run-in with a pair of hostile fans in the elevator at his hotel.
“I will never forget that day, December 2nd, 2010 (Heat vs. Cavs)” – @kingjames
New episode of More Than An Athlete out now on @espn+ pic.twitter.com/x1nO7dzNWx— UNINTERRUPTED (@uninterrupted) December 12, 2018
“I’m about to head out to the bus, and on my floor, the elevator opens, and there’s two guys that have ‘F*ck LBJ’ t-shirts on,” LeBron said. “And the elevator opens, and when they notice it’s me, one of the guys says ‘oh, can I take a picture with you?’ And when it’s closing, he says ‘I’m not even from Cleveland.'”
It’s a classic example of the fake tough guy routine deployed by so many so-called fans. It’s also good reminder of an important rule of thumb: if you wouldn’t say it to their face, don’t do it when you’re hiding behind the safety of anonymity.
