LeBron's "Decision" About Fans and Endorsements

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

LeBron's "Decision" About Fans and Endorsements

Between “The Decision” and a pointed tweet aimed at critics, the way LeBron James went about leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers for the Miami Heat is one of the more recent sports PR mishaps that may come to mind. When athletes’ egos get—or seem to get—a little too big for their britches, they not only lose fans (i.e. his jersey being burned in the streets of Cleveland after the announcement), but they lose endorsement deals. When James made the decision to head south and join the Heat, he left a gaping hole in the heart of Cleveland.  He then went on to rub salt in this open wound by hosting an hour-long televised special--cleverly titled “The Decision”--to further, and very publicly, continue to crush the city of Cleveland, along with his own “hometown hero” image. 

After stomping on his fans--and his public image--in this way, and seeing the backlash he received for it, he followed up with this tweet:

“Don’t think for one minute that I haven’t been taking mental notes

of everyone taking shots at me this summer. And I mean everyone!”

In these instances, James has committed some serious PR no-nos, and the only person he is hurting is himself. A bad attitude equals a loss of endorsement deals...equals a loss of money for the Hometown Hero. Publicist Gail Sideman says in an article on The Sports Network that she tells her big-time athlete clients that it’s easy to gain endorsement deals (read: paychecks); just be passionate and live honest and generous lifestyles and people—and companies looking for a celebrity face for their product—will  believe in them. 

In this situation, LeBron's PR team should have worked with him, making him aware of the fact that "The Decision" and the aforementioned tweet were not examples of living honestly and generously, but rather egotistically and defensively. 

LeBron's PR team could have squashed this issue before it even happened by working with him, making him aware of the fact that "The Decision" and the aforementioned tweet are not examples of living honestly and generously, but rather egotistically and defensively. In today's world where image and branding mean everything, athletes need to be more careful than ever about their actions--on court and off court; online and offline. Proactive efforts by sports PR professionals are the first step in garnering positive attention and, consequently, big-dollar deals for their clients.


~Liz

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