A New York Times article spotlighting the outpouring of detractors LeBron James faced after “taking his talents to South Beach” quotes WWE’s Jim Ross on what effectively amounted to a “heel turn” for the basketball standout.
“After a long, productive tenure as a fan favorite, he changed the story line and the way he did it, by going on ESPN, with Jim Gray as his straight man, was a classic wrestling [promo],” said Ross. “A hero doesn’t brag on his own abilities. It was a self-centered point of view that told his fans, ‘I’ve changed my philosophy.’”
The article, which references the fact that James is a WWE fan, analyzes at how ill-sentiment over his move to Miami in the off-season will shape the reaction to a possible Heat win in the NBA Finals. The Heat currently lead the Dallas Mavericks 1-0 in the best of seven series.
Although Ross confirms that he does not view James as a real-life villain, explaining that the player came across as “a really nice kid, very humble, mature for his age” during an autograph signing at a RAW event years ago, the article questions the extent to which James would even want to distance himself from the “heel” label.
“Wrestling heels break rules and often get away with it. James broke Cleveland’s heart and appears to be surmounting that, too. And while it is likely that more or even most fans will root for Miami to lose to Dallas, James has no doubt impressed younger fans with his audacity and defiance. Hence, the surge in his jersey sales,” the story notes. Another quote references the fact that Tiger Woods can still draw ratings on the golf course.
I am more on the conservative side in everything in life, and James is not as conser-vative and a lot of those guys are not as conservative. I always want everything t?o go a certain way. They were fine, but yo?u always ?want to make sure that they were fair t?o both players.