LeBron James Believes Race a Factor in 'The Decision' Backlash

Filed under: Cavaliers, Heat, Sports Business and Media

This past July, LeBron James and his management company, LRMR, announced his intention to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers and join Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh with the Miami Heat during an hour-long special on ESPN. Close to 10 million people tuned in to watch the announcement, which was widely panned as a self-serving effort to attract attention.

On Wednesday, both James and Maverick Carter, a childhood friend who also serves as LRMR's CEO, were interviewed by CNN's Soledad O'Brien to discuss "The Decision." In the middle of Wednesday's interview, O'Brien posed a question about the backlash that followed James' announcement: "Do you think there's a role that race plays in this?"

James responded to O'Brien by saying, "I think so at times. It's always, you know, a race factor."

Carter added, "It definitely played a role in some of the stuff coming out of the media, things that were written for sure."

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