Published 10:20 IST, July 10th 2020
LeBron James' The Decision helped donate over $2 million for the Boys and Girls Club
LeBron James The Decision: The Los Angeles Lakers star donated around $4 million after his ESPN TV Special where he announced that he would be going to Miami.
While NBA icon LeBron James' The Decision is infamous for his decision to leave hometown team Cleveland Cavaliers, James made a conscious decision to conduct the one-hour TV special at the gym of the Boys and Girls Club of Greenwich, Connecticut. His associate Mark Dowley contacted the then-executive director of Boys & Girls Club, Bob DeAngelo, to inform him of the NBA star's decision. When Dowley called, DeAngelo revealed that he almost fell from the ladder he was standing on. James wanted to use the gym to announce where he would play the next season and the money earned from the special would be donated to the Boys & Girls Club.
LeBron James The Decison: LeBron James donation to Boys and Girls Club before the LeBron James to Miami move
Journalist Jim Gray interviewed James at the venue, asking him questions about his free agency, and why he decided to do take his talents to the South Beach. James received tremendous backlash due to the ESPN TV Special, where everyone aside from Miami Heat fans referred to James as 'selfish and arrogant' for leaving the Cavaliers. During an interview with the Undefeated, the national vice president of sports, entertainment and alumni for the Boys & Girls Club Frank Sanchez spoke about how Gray did not ask James questions regarding the venue. If he had, James would have revealed details of his plans to donate to the Boys and Girls Club, which could have altered the negative effect the special had on James' image.
LeBron James The Decision: The LeBron James to Miami Heat announcement was made on live television
The situation was covered in the recent ESPN documentary series Backstory, which highlighted the behind-the-scenes look at LeBron James The Decision. In the documentary, James' advisers had come together to discuss how the ad revenue (approximately $2 million) generated from sponsors who purchase the commercial time during the TV Special would be donated to the Boys & Girls Club. James' advisors included now-business partner Maverick Carter, then-agent Leon Rose and William “Worldwide Wes” Wesley.
James had been working together with the Boys & Girls group ever since he started playing with the Cavaliers in 2003. For every All-Star game he played, James helped renovate the club it the host city. In 2009, James, Beyoncé and Jay-Z had donated sports and musical instruments to the club in Arizona.
For LeBron James The Decision, James was specific about donating the money to cities of teams that were favourites for James to sign with – Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks, New Jersey Nets, Los Angeles Clippers, Heat and Cavaliers. Greenwich and James' hometown Akron, Ohio were also included. Sanchez explained that James wanted to 'have a footprint in each one of the markets that were recruiting him' and was hoping that 'nobody got offended'.
Along with the $2 million raised from LeBron James The Decision, The LeBron James Family Foundation donated $2 million to the national office of the Boys & Girls Club in Atlanta. James' corporate partners also teamed up for the initiative, donating $500,000 worth of computers and other useful technology to the club. Nike helped with $500,000 worth of equipment and courts.
The Boys & Girls Club was formed in 1860 in Hartford, Connecticut. As per their website, they want to ensure that every child “graduate[s] from high school with a plan for the future, demonstrating good character and citizenship and living a healthy lifestyle". James, who grew up with his single mother Gloria and missed over 100 days of school as she struggled to make ends meet, was referred to as an 'uplifting force for young people' by Sanchez.
James played and won two NBA titles for the Heat before returning to the Cavaliers and winning them their first franchise title in 2016. In 2018, James left Cavaliers for the second time to join the Los Angeles Lakers.
During his interview with Deadspin, Don Palmer, the Club’s Program Director at the time, revealed that the Greenwich club allowed 50 kids above the age of ten to attend the special. The kids were Youth of the Year Winners, and interacted with James why calling him during breaks. James would turn around and wave to them. DeAngelo said that while the crowd outside erupted after his decision, the kids surrounded him as people inside the gym clapped. “They all surrounded him,” Palmer revealed, “He picked up one of the kids and put her on his shoulders. And then the NBA ushered him out."
DeAngelo revealed that he felt bad for James, who 'got killed in the ratings'. “It didn’t come across probably the way he wanted it to,” DeAngelo explained to Deadspin. “It’s just my opinion, from being around him and looking at him, if he to had to do it over again, I bet he would have done it from his house, on the sofa, with his wife, you know, that close and personal".
(Image source: LeBron James Family Foundation official site)
Updated 10:20 IST, July 10th 2020