Albom strongly opposes. He suggests instead of taking responsibility for his own actions, LeBron deflects the blame and uses racism as a scapegoat. LeBron makes no mention of the fact that the hatred towards him was fueled because he held the city of Cleveland hostage by delaying his free agency decision by creating his own television special to dump on his home state of Ohio. LeBron was raised in Akron, Ohio and spent seven seasons with the Cavaliers, but by egotistically choosing to "take his talents to South Beach" in front of viewers watching all over the world, it is obvious LeBron only cares about himself.
I agree with Albom 100%. LeBron James shifts the blame on racism, because he is not willing to admit what he has done. He has lost the respect of millions of people. Nobody demanded that he stayed in Cleveland, but at the same time nobody expected him to embarrass his home like that. Furthermore, by blaming race, he takes the easy way out.
Albom's most effective argument in the essay is that previous to "The Decision", LeBron had never made it apparent that he had any racial adversity against him. Albom points out that "the moment you suggest someone is motivated by a prejudice, you can never prove it wrong, and you can always attack the accuser." LeBron looks for sympathy by blaming race, but his actions overshadow any hope for fans to see him as innocent. So then again, why play the race card?
