LeBron bows to Cleveland legend Jim Brown before Game 3 tipoff
As soon as he announced his return to the Cleveland Cavaliers last summer, LeBron James erased most any lingering resentment tied to The Decision and remarried himself to a city in need of an athlete capable of ending a 50-year title drought. If James is able to bring the Cavaliers a championship — and he’s most certainly playing to that level through three games — then it’s a safe bet that he’ll be mentioned (with absolutely no qualifications) as one of the two greatest athletes in the history of the city. LeBron’s at that level already, but rings tend to end a lot of debate.
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The other member of that duo attended Tuesday night’s NBA Finals Game 3 at Quicken Loans Arena. Hall of Fame Cleveland Browns running back Jim Brown, arguably the most dominant player in NFL history, took in the Cavs’ eventual 96-91 win from a courtside seat. LeBron acknowledged his presence right before tipoff with a quick bow:
Brown was the driving force behind the Browns’ pre-Super Bowl NFL title in 1964, Cleveland’s last championship in any major professional sport. He spoke with William C. Rhoden of The New York Times about the burden he carried then (both on the field and off it) and how it relates to LeBron’s task in the present day:
“In a subtler way, he has had to carry the same kind of burden and use the same kind of wisdom,” Brown said. “For him to have to have the ability to deal with the politics of being back in Cleveland, dealing with the politics of his own team, I have great admiration for what I see as a great contribution by a human being on and off the field. “
In Brown’s Cleveland, there was segregation and discrimination. There is segregation, too, in James’s Cleveland, but blacks with wealth — like James — are able to navigate around some forms of racism. […]
Scoring touchdowns was not the only source of Brown’s greatness, nor are points the sole source for James’s. What Brown did, and what James is now trying to do, is inspire those around them to reach higher than they thought possible.
“The way he expresses himself, the way that he plays, and the understanding that he has of what his role is, is very refreshing,” Brown said of James. “It’s rare for a man that young to have that kind of wisdom.”
While their situations are obviously very different, the mutual respect shared by Brown and James is pretty cool given these two men’s lofty standing in Cleveland’s sports history. If LeBron brings home two more wins against the Golden State Warriors, they’ll have even more in common.
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Eric Freeman is a writer for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
