When LeBron Went “Hollywood”
Whoops. First chink in the armor, ‘Bron.
It’s old news that LeBron James skulked (Ditched? Eluded? Nah, we’ll stick with skulked) away from the Orlando Magic, his teammates, the media and his duties as a franchise leader after the final game of his 2008-09 season on May 30.
It happened. It’s over. And the first time next season he barrels past some poor sucker unsuccessfully trying to foul him, all will be forgiven, right?
But what if it won’t?
When a child cries on the train, it’s the parent that gets all the dirty looks. ‘Bron-Bron’s exeunt stage left played in the media like a big crying baby on a very crowded train. So for now, all bets are off with the fans. James’ refusal to acknowledge anybody after Cleveland’s loss was a miscalculation. But James is a calculating person (he has to be) and when someone like that makes a mistake, it carries more weight. How much weight? Enough that I’m compelled to conjure up parallels between LeBron’s hypothetical future and the turning point in the career of professional wrestler Hulk Hogan when he became “Hollywood Hogan.”
James is as much businessman as he is athlete and for six years, the fans have allowed that dichotomy on the grounds that he keep tossin’ that chalk (figuratively speaking. Why? Does he actually toss chalk? Weird.) James the athlete has rarely failed. James the athlete has never failed. On Saturday, both failed. This isn’t difficult. The average fan loathes athletes increasing energy placed toward marketing themselves. Most athletes know that if they’re going to do that, they better bring it on the playing ground. If they don’t, when the athlete fails, fans turn on the businessman first.
In 1996, for reasons both fabricated for wrestling fans and born from Terry Bollea’s personal life, the iconic red and gold hero went to the dark side. Instead of talking to kids about vitamins, prayers and muscle pythons, Hollywood became greedy, selfish and turned on his friends with seemingly no hesitation. In ’96′s Bash at the Beach, Hulk went Hollywood by surprising longtime friend Randy Savage by attacking him. Sound familiar?
LeBron James, who also dons a red and gold uniform, was teammates with Magic center Dwight Howard on the 2008 Gold medal-winning Olympic team. Unlike Denver’s Carmelo Anthony and L.A.’s Kobe Bryant who were also on that team and shared a brief embrace at the end of the Western Conference Finals, James lost Game 6 and failed to acknowledge Howard on his way toward the tunnel.
Hogan ran with the Hollywood persona in part because his Hulk persona was wrapped up in a legal battle with Marvel Comics and its ownership of the Incredible Hulk. Just as Hogan’s identity was ensnared between corporate branding, so too is James’ identity. James may have won over Cleveland fans by throwing talcum high into the air (an act stolen from Boston’s Kevin Garnett, who stole it from Michael Jordan), but it was Nike that branded the act and made it iconic. A funny thing happens to celebrities trying to become the richest man in the world: he becomes indebted to those who made him that way. And therefore James literally cannot afford to be himself, because he’s a 24-year old kid who might do something boneheaded to lose endorsements (see: Phelps, Michael).
Hollywood ran with the bad guy persona. Unforeseeably to Hogan, it left a bitter taste in the mouths of fans who made him an icon. Even after Hogan put the red and gold undies back on, relations with the fans had been irreparably damaged. For some, the thin illusion of goodness Hogan had established in his career was broken.
James’ mistake was hardly the three-year betrayal Hogan created, but because sports are a culmination of snap decisions and irretrievable moments, it wouldn’t be shocking if the fans turn on James in a similar fashion.
It’s too early to say that James tarnished his career by this one act, but if his career veers more toward Hollywood than Hulk, this will be the snub they’ll say started it all.
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