Bron-Bron didn’t rip up a beloved franchise leaving nothing but an empty hole behind in order to claim a $300m. taxpayer bonanza offered by a corrupt cabal of local and state officials. Modell was a veteran NFL owner who acted out of jealously — the Indians had a new stadium on deck — greed and ultimately spite in refusing to sell-out to a local owner.
James is exactly like his peers — a spoiled man-child who has never been told no. Of course they prefer to play in South Beach, not on the banks of the once-flaming Cuyahoga. Of course they shrink when confronted with actual crunch-time and seek to remake stacked, pressure-free all-star teams from their free-form AAU days. No one in Cleveland could be truly surprised that James tapped out.
Yet here is Cavs owner Dan Gilbert screaming his head off, calling James a quitter. Charlotte knows a thing or two about bad NBA owners. Really bad. Gilbert just lapped Robert Johnson and George Shinn and crippled his franchise for years to come with his emotional outburst. What free agent will want to go to Cleveland now?
Gilbert is not there yet, but a few more self-destructive antics, and he’ll be the one to compare to Art Modell.
