The Wiki World

In one of my older post, I explained how my curiosity drove me to explore the Wikipedia page of the Cleveland Cavaliers, in hope of seeing if the information it provided on Lebron James was truly accurate. In the post, I pinpointed that the “2003-2010: The Lebron James Era” section on the page was missing substantial information on the impact of Lebron James.  The revisions I made gave the proper respect to James without disrespecting the integrity of the Cavalier's Organization or any one player.

Losing in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, the Cavaliers now focused on Lebron James and the fact that he was now becoming a free agent. Owner Dan Gilbert realized the demand would be very high for James and many if not every team would place their bids. On July 8, 2010, James announced that he had decided that he would sign a long term deal with the Miami Heat.  This announcement was aired on ESPN as a one hour show named The Decision. The repercussions of this announcement left many in the city of Cleveland and many in the Cavalier organization furious and feeling betrayed. Many Lebron James jerseys were burned, and the famous Nike "Witness" mural of James in downtown Cleveland was immediately taken down. Shortly after James made his announcement, Dan Gilbert, the owner of the Cavaliers, announced in an open letter on the Cavaliers website that James' decision was a "cowardly betrayal" and promised a NBA championship for the Cleveland Cavaliers before Lebron James wins one as a Heat player. Despite being ridiculed for the letter by the media, Cleveland fans embraced the owner, even offering to pay the $100,000 fine given by the NBA.  Instead of paying homage to a young man who has created many opportunities for the Cavaliers and the city of Cleveland’s economy, James was ridiculed and disrespected for making a decision he believed would benefit his life. The new formed hatred for James followed him into 2011 NBA Finals, after the Heat had reached the finals in James’ first year with the team. When the Dallas Mavericks closed the Miami Heat out in Game 6, many in Cleveland celebrated as if the Cavaliers had won the championship. At the time it wasn’t about the Cavaliers not winning but mainly about Lebron losing. There were even tweets from Cavaliers ownership of sly remarks about the Heat losing in the Finals. For a man who did nothing but benefit the City in many aspects, this treatment was very harsh.  With the emergence of Kyrie Irving as a Superstar in the NBA, it is probable that the hate for James would decrease because of the increase in love for Irving. 

I felt the need to make edits to this particular paragraph in the section because it lacked the emphasis on how the events occurred during the end of the Lebron James era with the Cavaliers. Unfortunately my revisions were immediately changed back to the original the text. The fact that my edits were changed within 24 hours after I posted the edits on Wikipedia showed me the Cleveland Cavaliers fans were not as grateful to what Lebron contributed to the city, as I thought they should be.

In my opinion, Lebron forever changed the dynamic of sports in Cleveland. As a member of the Cavaliers, he enhanced revenues for the downtown business districts which created many job opportunities for the residents of the city. I believe someone who has that much affect on a city in such a positive manner should receive a lot of appreciation for all that they have done.