Wednesday

Kareem: LeBron can't truly 'go home again' to 'betrayed' Cleveland

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and LeBron James

The NBA's all-time leading scorer is taking issue with LeBron James' "I'm coming home" letter, comparing The King's return to Cleveland to "a straying husband" who's now "having second thoughts."
In a column for Time magazine, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar says he doesn't doubt James' sincerity, and he praises LeBron's courage for returning "to what many Clevelanders might consider 'the scene of the crime.'" Abdul-Jabbar also acknowledges that having LeBron back with the Cavaliers is a good thing for the sport and admits that "I certainly will be watching."
But the former Bucks and Lakers legend also says some people might find James' reasoning for going back "disingenuous and self-serving."
Citing author Thomas Wolfe's novel "You Can't Go Home Again," Abdul-Jabbar says the author's intent with the title was to show that neither we nor our hometowns remain static once we leave to pursue other experiences and challenges. And while we have a tendency to view our childhood homes through rose-tinted glasses, things change while we're gone.
 
LOOK WHO'S BACK IN CLEVELAND 
 
Or, to put it another way, Abdul-Jabbar writes:
"To some skeptical residents, LeBron's return to Cleveland is less that of the prodigal son's triumphant return home than the straying husband who abandoned his longtime partner to chase a younger, hotter, firmer slice having second thoughts. Having realized he traded a deep love for a sweaty romp, he's coming home with a bouquet of roses in one hand and a diamond bracelet in the other, begging forgiveness for his foolish mistake of lustful youth."
Ouch!
Again, Kareem isn't completely dismissive of LeBron's (second) decision; in some ways, he claims he identifies with James, offering up his own career as an example. Abdul-Jabbar writes in the essay that during his career, he, too, had wished to return home to New York to play basketball. Ultimately, no trade could be worked out, and Abdul-Jabbar ended up leaving Milwaukee to play for Los Angeles instead.
But the legendary center says that many Cavs fans may still have a hard time getting over the hurt feelings LeBron caused with his "tacky" first decision to leave.
"... In another way, LeBron can't go home again. At least not to the home he once knew. They may be grateful and joyful, but they are also wiser. Like the betrayed spouse, they will have to wait and see, they will have to be wooed, they will have to be convinced that his sincerity, to quote 'Porgy and Bess,' ain't a sometime thing."
Time may indeed tell whether all is truly forgiven between LeBron James and the city of Cleveland. But if The King is able to deliver a championship to the city, it's probably a safe bet to guess the fences will be completely mended.

Jeremiah 4:
30 And when thou art spoiled, what wilt thou do? Though thou clothest thyself with crimson, though thou deckest thee with ornaments of gold, though thou rentest thy face with painting, in vain shalt thou make thyself fair; thy lovers will despise thee, they will seek thy life.
 
Psalm 137:
3  For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion.

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