LeBron James: Is he the most powerful athlete in all of sports?

“The Decision” was considered a mistake by many, but NBA players are still benefiting to this day!  

Most of the time when the media talks about LeBron James and his missteps in his career, it seems that all fingers get pointed to 2010, when ESPN did a 60 minute production surrounding James’ decision to leave Cleveland (The first time!) and “Take my talents to South Beach and join the Miami Heat”.

Let’s skip past the wasted 57 minutes that built up to the announcement, shall we? Most NBA fans did not know that LeBron James made a lot of money for the Boys and Girls Club. He donated the proceeds attached to “The Decision” to an organization that could really use the money.

Let’s go deeper than that. LeBron James forming a “superteam” in Miami with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh changed not only the way NBA teams constructed their rosters, but it exposed the level of power that players had over their careers.

It wasn’t the ESPN show that bothered everybody, (well not entirely, the show was bad!) it was the impression of the power that could be had by players controlling the narrative in the media.

At the beginning of the decade, this move made LeBron James one of the most hated athletes in sports. Now at the end of the decade, think about how many players today go to social media and discuss their career moves like LeBron James did nearly ten years ago.

Carmelo Anthony just recently went on ESPN and talked to Stephen A. Smith for an hour about his feelings about being left out of the NBA.

Now go back and look at both interviews again. The subjects are the same but, if LeBron James doesn’t have his special, would Carmelo Anthony have his?