Recently, LeBron James teased his “Second Decision” announcement, which many speculated could have pertained to his potential retirement, only to later reveal it to be nothing more than an ad for Hennessy. While some correctly predicted that the spoof was just an endorsement, others were outraged that the Lakers star would attempt to create such major buzz around the event only to let everyone down.
One person who was not on board with James' PR strategy was sports media personality Skip Bayless, who took to The Skip Bayless Show to relay his thoughts.
“It was an iconic sports moment because we'd never seen anything like that,” said Bayless of James' original 2010 “Decision” to join the Miami Heat. “It was a GOAT-ish sort of endeavor… and to take that decision, ‘The Decision,' and stoop to cheapen it, to sell it out? To make money, to launch some new Hennesy brand of Cognac? Really, you would stoop to that LeBron, as you enter this stage and age, as you enter year 23, age 40?”
Bayless was not the only commentator who echoed similar sentiments, accusing James of selling out and conning the entire NBA world in the process.
A break for the Lakers
The only group of people who were happy about James' misguided advertisement were fans of the Los Angeles Lakers, who can go into this season knowing that their second best player won't be retiring.
James is entering his eighth season with the Lakers and is teammates with Luka Doncic, who is beginning his first full campaign with the Purple and Gold.
While James and Doncic have bizarrely not been practicing with their Lakers teammates this week, the hope is that Los Angeles will be able to improve upon last year's postseason exit to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round.
The Lakers will begin their quest to do just that when their regular season tips off on October 22 at home against the Golden State Warriors. That game is slated to begin at 10:00 PM ET.
