LeBron James is selling his credibility, one Decision at a time

[Mosby]

A toast to LeBron: Let us all, please, raise a glass for the basketball King who seems intent on becoming the world’s jester. All at once now, and preferably at noon Eastern time. But, really, any time would do. Pick any date that one of his myriad brand partners chooses and we will be there, expecting greatness yet coming away in disbelief, wondering: “Wait! Is that it?!”

Crown him — the royal pain in our backside. The Duke of desperation. The Baron of basic behavior. The man who would be King has made himself into a peasant shilling for coins, and he’s spending his final years not as the greatest player in history, nor as a modern-day activist and advocate, but as a narcissist fearful of Father Time.

Why else does a graying, grown man of 40 years go through all the effort to cry out for our attention? LeBron James, the senescent NBA superstar who has run out of worlds to conquer, has nothing else better to do on a Tuesday than manipulate anyone willing to give him their time. And so, LeBron and one of his sponsors devised a bait-and-switch teaser on his social media platform. To the earnest observers, the promo appeared as though it could be a retirement announcement, and in anticipation, LeBron ascended to the No. 2 trending topic on Google. Instead, it was just a way for LeBron to sell the people cognac.

Washington Post