Media Spin On LeBron's Ad

I was very critical of LeBron's ESPN "The Decision" special, mostly because I thought it a farce.  Nobody needs an hour special to announced where they are going in free agency and I said as much.

Now however it seems that the media is looking for any reason to bash the guy. They keep looking for ex NBA legends to question his mindset in going to another team that already has a superstar. They keep writing about his "posse" and how evidently they have steered him wrong. And the latest story today is about an ad LeBron took out in his hometown of Akron's newspaper.

Here is the ESPN headline.

Lebron ad thanks Akron, but Cleveland absent.

Here is the first graf

LeBron James has taken out a full-page ad in his hometown paper in which he thanks the people of Akron for supporting him -- and doesn't mention the city where he played basketball the last seven years.

That mean old LeBron didn't even mention Cleveland!

Mind you this was an ad taking out not in a Cleveland Paper but his home town Akron Beacon Journal paper. And mind you after the remarks of the Cavs owner and the death threats from some of the "fans" in Cleveland one would be hard pressed to explain why he needed to thank them anyway. But furthermore lets look at the text of his ad.

To My Family, Friends and Fans in Akron:

"For all my life, I have lived in Akron -- and for that, I am truly a lucky man.

"It was here where I first learned how to play basketball, and where I met the people who would become my lifelong friends and mentors. Their guidance, encouragement and support will always be with me.

"Akron is my home, and the central focus of my life. It's where I started, and it's where I will always come back to. You can be sure that I will continue to do everything I can for this city, which is so important to my family and me. Thank you for your love and support. You mean everything to me.

You see that second to last line? The love and support part? This wasn't a letter to fair weather fans who burn jerseys and threaten to burn your house down when you leave. This was a letter to the guy's hometown residents who "love and support" him no matter what jersey he's wearing.

Not only that, he is pledging to continue giving back of himself to his hometown, something we normally applaud in this country. The Baltimore Sun article even points out that he is going to be giving out 400 bikes to kids in Akron this weekend.

But what is the media focused on?

That he didn't thank Cleveland.

I'll use an acronym and but I'm sure you can figure it out.

GTFOHWTBS