Held Hostage

If you haven’t heard lately, LeBron James is holding my home town – the city of Cleveland – hostage.  Yeah, he is.  Not that he has nuclear weapons and AK-47s, or has kidnapped someone to hold them for ransom.  But, if you were to listen to the local media – okay, the national media, too – the remaining life in the city of Cleveland will depart if LeBron doesn’t sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers, or at least put the Cavs in a position to benefit by his departure (i.e. sign and trade).

Now, let me get this straight.  LeBron plays basketball for a team that plays 41 games at home, at a price that many working class folks cannot afford.  Many of these folks, in this economy, may even have a difficult time paying their cable bills so they can watch the games.

So it’s LeBron’s fault these folks can’t make ends meet, right?   And if LeBron does leave, it means they’ll be able to afford even less, right?  I don’t think so.

Instead, why aren’t the media types in northeast Ohio focusing on the real problem: established politicians who keep doing the same thing to retain their power base, yet doing nothing to actually benefit the region.   The problems in the region are longstanding, but they keep adding new flavors.

Am I disappointed in LeBron for the approach he is taking to free agency?  Absolutely.  But to indict him for the region’s longstanding problems is nothing other than the region’s “leaders” deflecting blame from themselves.  Idiots!