Here’s Dan Gilbert’s LeBron rant letter
2010-07-08Dan Gilbert is not pleased with LeBron. Here’s the link to the letter in the original font. Below is the letter in its entirety.
Dear Cleveland, All Of Northeast Ohio and Cleveland Cavaliers Supporters Wherever You May Be Tonight;
As you now know, our former hero, who grew up in the very region that he deserted this evening, is no longer a Cleveland Cavalier.
This was announced with a several day, narcissistic, self-promotional build-up culminating with a national TV special of his “decision” unlike anything ever “witnessed” in the history of sports and probably the history of entertainment.
Clearly, this is bitterly disappointing to all of us.
The good news is that the ownership team and the rest of the hard-working, loyal, and driven staff over here at your hometown Cavaliers have not betrayed you nor NEVER will betray you.
There is so much more to tell you about the events of the recent past and our more than exciting future. Over the next several days and weeks, we will be communicating much of that to you.
You simply don’t deserve this kind of cowardly betrayal.
You have given so much and deserve so much more.
In the meantime, I want to make one statement to you tonight:
“I PERSONALLY GUARANTEE THAT THE CLEVELAND CAVALIERS WILL WIN AN NBA CHAMPIONSHIP BEFORE THE SELF-TITLED FORMER ‘KING’ WINS ONE”
You can take it to the bank.
If you thought we were motivated before tonight to bring the hardware to Cleveland, I can tell you that this shameful display of selfishness and betrayal by one of our very own has shifted our “motivation” to previously unknown and previously never experienced levels.
Some people think they should go to heaven but NOT have to die to get there.
Sorry, but that’s simply not how it works.
This shocking act of disloyalty from our home grown “chosen one” sends the exact opposite lesson of what we would want our children to learn. And “who” we would want them to grow-up to become.
But the good news is that this heartless and callous action can only serve as the antidote to the so-called “curse” on Cleveland, Ohio.
The self-declared former “King” will be taking the “curse” with him down south. And until he does “right” by Cleveland and Ohio, James (and the town where he plays) will unfortunately own this dreaded spell and bad karma.
Just watch.
Sleep well, Cleveland.
Tomorrow is a new and much brighter day….
I PROMISE you that our energy, focus, capital, knowledge and experience will be directed at one thing and one thing only:
DELIVERING YOU the championship you have long deserved and is long overdue….
Dan Gilbert
Majority Owner
Cleveland Cavaliers
—-
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Dan Gilbert SLAVERY IS OVER, RUN NEGRO RUN IS OVER! you may not have gotten the memo, the economic crisis won’t shake you, this isn’t about Lebron James, it’s about your narcissitic, over bearing, inflated ego. You do what’s best for you, why can’t the young man do what’s best for him. How deplorable can you be to lash out at a player who for 7 years sold out arenas and you marketed and bank rolled on like your personal piggy bank. GET OVER IT, you are a miserable, unprofessional and a sorry excuse of a human being. How dare… Read more »
Today’s been an excellent example why I (A Cavs Fan) would have run for the hills (or beach, I suppose) if given the opportunity. 1st: If every analyst predicts that the #1 team in the league is now in the running for the #1 overall pick because 1 player left, it’s a sign that that roster had no business being #1 if not for the transcendent greatness of that player. That’s not an easy load to carry, nor one that he should be expected to. The team has given him nothing, and all they could have given him would have… Read more »
Dan Gilbert needs to take a good hard look at himself in the mirror and give himself a nice big uppercut. LBJ gave you SEVEN (7) years Gilbert and in that time you failed miserably in putting a good enough team around him that would have him decide to stay in Miami. You can bet your bottom dollar Gilbert that players talk and your lack of respect and egotistical tirade now that Lebron has gone will at best probably allow you to recruit Charles Barkley or maybe even a Ron Tarpley if you are that lucky. Your comment also that… Read more »
I could talk about this letter for hours but to sum it up ill say FUCK YOU FERRY! Its your fault that you didnt surround him with better players. Come on now. Shaq and Jamison? Really? Their ages add up to like 100 or something what a joke. And you cant just hate on a guy that owns almost every Cavs record that exists. You just made a fool of yourself. Lebron made the right DECISION. He doesnt to waste his entire career in Cleveland. HE WANTS TO WIN NOW!!!! Miami will be a LEGIT CONTENDER FOR YEARS TO COME.… Read more »
Dan Gilbert reminds me of Edison Miranda Vs. Lucian Bute..watch it on you.tube… Edison took a left to the stomach and tried to act like he wasn’t hurt, when in fact he was. (I’m an Edison fan I might add) But you guys are SALTY, I cant blame u though. But yeah, it sucks to be a Cavs fan right now :D
I can’t believe that Lebron or Maverick Carter didn’t have the respect to tell ESPN NOT to put cameras in Cleveland.
As far as Dan Gilbert saying what he said, I like it. I’m a Cavs fan for life, and I want the owner to believe in his team. Imagine if this had happened to Cuban…you can bet he would have fired away. Professionalism? That got thrown out the moment Lebron decided to publicly sucker punch his home state.
http://www.cavsplanet.com
Tim and Maverick pretty much hit the nail on the head, so I can’t really add anything on. The Cavs owner’s response and the Cleveland fans’ response is downright disgusting and unprofessional. This ni**a gave u motherf***ers 7 YEARS of his life and this is how you turn around and take it?? Burning his jersery!?! ( I got a flashback from Mississipi Burning) You assh**es just proved to him that he made THE RIGHT DECISION. Championship!? PLEASE!! Get off the crack homeboy! Now u wanna get off your a** and do something? EHHHHH!!!! TOO LATE!!! Cleveland management should be getting… Read more »
You would be pissed too if you just lost a hundred million dollars!
And then we have to deal with Maverick fans too.
How well has Cubes done at putting together a winner in Dallas? Hasn’t gone to great has it. next.
Nothing is cracking me up more than multiple sixers fans getting on Cleveland for being upset. DO YOU IDIOTS EVEN KNOW WHERE THE TEAMS YOU SUPPORT EXIST???DO YOU KNOW WHAT PHILLY DOES TO ITS’ PLAYERS (and Santa) EVERY DAY??? YOu just ran McNabb out of team. You boo’d Jeff Garcia WHILE HE WAS WINNING YOU A PLAYOFF GAME!!!Plz stop bringing this bullshit in here.
First off I’m f#!@%’ furious about the news that lbj abandoned Cleveland for Miami! (even though I’m a Lakers fan and resident of Los Angeles). I honestly feel horrible for the fans and residents of Cleveland, its difficult economic condition, and it quesionable economic future because of that losers abandonment of the city. It was an obvious choice to return to “his city”, the place he was born and raised and nurtured by loyal fans. I thought he had the opportunity to make strides by work with the city of Cleveland to create jobs and to help develop those areas… Read more »
I’m a sixers fan but with all the hate from cleveland fans i don’t blame lebron for leaving you, what were you guys hoping for?? You booed him on his home court in the finals what the hell sort of fans do that? cleveland’s cap space is wrecked and they have no flexibilty to build a contender, it’s just lebron and the misfits. They should have built a solid young team around him ages ago like rose with the bulls and KD with the thunder. The only people to blame are the incompetent front office of the cavs. You never… Read more »
@ celtics fan
i forgot to say, you’re old big 3 might not even make it to the finals next year, plus your injured center. LOL!!!! you’re talking of the queen? the queen is in your team – the best flopper of all.
@ celtics fan
feel sorry for yourself because you will be facing lots of good eastern teams next year. if you faced Orlando in the eastern finals last year, you may not even make it to the eastern finals next year. LOL!!!
Quicken Loans must own most of Florida, right? Start putting those underwater homeowners under.
“The good news is that the ownership team and the rest of the hard-working, loyal, and driven staff over here at your hometown Cavaliers have not betrayed you nor NEVER will betray you.”
Please buy the Indians now!
Oh yea – we’re still going to kick miami’s ass so keep rooting for the queen!! LOL!!
Wow – you fans who still admire lbj and kiss his azz – i really feel sorry for you! I thought I’d drop by and see people who are sick of this egomaniac. But no – I see a bunch of losers still backin him up. No wonder he left – you guys are idiiots. You don’t even know when you’re getting reamed in the butt!!!!
I first felt sorry for cavs fans but you guys back lbj instead of dan gilbert. lol!!
Dan Gilbert is certifiable. Want to know who to blame? Start with yourself Gilbert. You failed to attract a supporting cast that could go all the way. DUH. Is Delonte West, Mo Williams, a burned out Shaq and co the best you could do? The guy gave you seven years – your sense of urgency only kicked in a couple of years ago. Are you seriously telling me someone like Cuban would have sat around with his thumb up his backside while the leagues best talent waited for personnel? Hell no. Dan Gilbert is a billionaire. I bet he’s made… Read more »
One more thing – for Dan Gilbert to find out about Lebron’s decision this way was incredible. A big slap on the face to the guy who tried everything he could, to get Lebron the people HE wanted. Lebron was completely classless and egotistical. To put all of his fans through this misery and not even have the decency to tell Gilbert was a sign of the kind of person he truly is. We all saw it on the Chicago series – he had already made up his mind, and in the Boston series he just quit… Tell me it… Read more »
And for those who say Kobe would have never done it like this or MJ or any other Basket-Star. Remember thier oweners did everythign to KEEP them with them team. Again, I’m just say’in
WOW this is amazing, the disrespect he, James, is getting from his so called fans and former owner. Just go to show you put no trust in man. They’ll have you up one day and burned up or “cursed” the next. In my best Color Puple voice, everything you done to me already done to you, in reference to the curse from D. Gilbert. Let that man play ball. most 18 year olds would have left way before turning 25 if he was only thinking about the $. And remember the owners make their money off the players. He should… Read more »
as a non-ohioan, i was ready to start spewing anti-lebron sentiment. the more comments i read the more i’m steering to lebron’s corner. here’s why: even though he’s an ego self-promoting self-serving backstabber leaving cleveland it had to be to one of the hardest decisions he or anyone could have made. he could have taken the easy route…stay at home, be king, have an entire state worship the ground you walk-on and maybe never win a championship and more importantly always wonder what could have been or leave town, become a pariah (he had to know there would be some… Read more »
@EYE FOR GREATNESS —- TOTALLY AGREE WITH YOU!
I wonder what he means by “There is so much more to tell you about the events of the recent past and our more than exciting future. Over the next several days and weeks, we will be communicating much of that to you.”
Either way there is good and bad elements to this response. I couldn’t care less about the glamour of professional sports, but I’m really pulling for the city of Cleveland after this.
accept it or not, the only reason why a lot are mad at lebron is because WE KNOW THAT LEBRON IS OUR ONLY HOPE. Lebron leaving means we will be in drought for the next few years. agree with those who said that the management did not do everything to support lebron. who is the easy fall guy now? it’s lebron because he is the one who is famous and the one who made the decision. BUT WHY AREN’T YOU BLAMING OUR GM FOR NOT BEING ABLE TO BRING A GOOD SUPPORTING CAST TO LEBRON OR EVEN BOSH AND WADE… Read more »
Whether he carries through with the promise or not, fucking awesome. This is exactly what the team needs. Dan Gilbert — stay drunk and get us a title!!
dan gilbert is a nut. look at the rosters of teams that have won championships the cavs didn’t have them everyone on the roster was mediocre at best. most of the players wouldn’t make it as starters on a good team. he won on his own during the regular season but for a title no one player can do it alone against teams that have such talent such as the lakers, magic, celtics. jordan had talent, magic had talent, bird had talent, and kobe has talent. to say lebron is messed up for leaving who could blame him this so… Read more »
For all the non-Ohioans: You guys just don’t understand, he was one of us and left us behind, on national television with a 1hr. special to boot. After completely quitting on the team against the Celtics… Another thing believe it or not – I don’t care – HE, Lebron James made the decisions for the Cavs. He WANTED the players he got. He wanted Shaq to go against Howard. He wanted Hughes to be his Pippen. He wanted Jameson after the Suns wouldn’t trade Amare… So if he didn’t win, it was all on him. He had the players he… Read more »
I think it is ashame for a majority owner to make these statements that for 7 years you have been riding LeBron coat-tail and now he decides to go to Miami, your over- sensitive side wants to come out and show your true feelings because he chose to go play in Miami, SO WHAT players are REPLACEABLE, stop thinking about how embarass your organization and city feels and do your job. I don’t agree with Lebron decision but he is still a product of this great area and he has done a lot for us in this 7 years, remember… Read more »
Wow, he’s guarunteeing a championship before maimi wins one……let me make a guaruntee, i guaruntee that dan gilbert sells his stake in the cleveland cavs and purchases the pistons before the heat win their first championship. he must be kidding himself if he thinks there is a chance that the cavs will win a championship before the heat with lebron james. can’t happen and won’t happen………hey, teams move on….the pistons lost grant hill and went on to 6 eastern conference finals, 2 finals appearances and 1 NBA championship after he left. so there is some hope, but dan please leave… Read more »
todays youth is sad if children r the future they could learn some wisdom from grandpa DWADE SPEAKS LEBRON KISS MY CONVERSE GET ME A GATOR AID SHONUFF DONT DRINK VITAMIN WATER /WHAT DID U EXPECT FROM A 18YR OLD WHO DROVE A HUMMER TODAYS YOUTH WANTS 2 LOOK AND ACT HARD EVEN IN MUSIC U R NOT GHETTO U R MOMMAS BOYS /CUT THE CRUST OFF MY PB AND J MOM IM DETROIT CRACKHOUSE GHETTO /SPERMDONOR IN PRISON CRACKWHORE IN JAIL DETROIT /LEBRON WORK 4 WHAT U GET 11 ISAIH DIDNT KISS MAJIC ASS 4 TITLES HE TOOK THEM… Read more »
I AM TOTALLY AGREE WITH RICH. I dont get why people have to be so outraged at Lebron’s decision, you can be shocked, surprised, or disappointed (if he didnt go to the team you wanted him to). Yes, he didnt need to go through all of the circus, he could have just said I’m going to this team next year to play, and people would probably be less angry at him. But in the end, isn’t the decision up to the man? He is the one playing basketball and ultimately chose Miami for whatever reasons he felt was best for… Read more »
AND you people saying that Lebron is selfish and only in it for himself, really, he choosing where he wants to play is selfish? How are YOU not selfish for wanting to play at one place for whatever reason? If you were in his shoes, would YOU have stayed in Cleveland? Of course no one can answer that question because NO ONE is Lebron James, who knows what he had to go through to make this decision.
I agreed with your. Like the Big 3 in Boston Celtics. If Kevin Garnet did not give up his loyalty in his previous team. He never had a championship ring with Celtic. Also the same case for LeBron James too. I wish LeBron to have the championship ring this year and also the few rings with Miami Heat. He deserve it. I ALSO AGREE WITH THE FAN EMAIL BELOW. HE ALREADY GAVE 7 YEARS TO CLEVELAND. I PERSONALLY GUARANTEE THAT THE CLEVELAND CAVALIERS WILL WIN AN NBA CHAMPIONSHIP BEFORE THE SELF-TITLED FORMER ‘KING’ WINS ONE” You can take it to… Read more »
I agreed with your. Like the Big 3 in Boston Celtics. If Kevin Garnet did not give up his loyalty in his previous team. He never had a championship ring with Celtic. Also the same case for LeBron James too. I wish LeBron to have the championship ring this year and also the few rings with Miami Heat. He deserve it. I ALSO AGREE WITH THE FAN EMAIL BELOW. I PERSONALLY GUARANTEE THAT THE CLEVELAND CAVALIERS WILL WIN AN NBA CHAMPIONSHIP BEFORE THE SELF-TITLED FORMER ‘KING’ WINS ONE” You can take it to the bank. – very interesting and exciting.… Read more »
No one in there right mind can understand why this man reacted this way. Grow up, money doesn’t make u humble just stupid. This time tomorrow he will retract to this dumb letter and understand life goes on……
I dont get why people have to be so outraged at Lebron’s decision, you can be shocked, surprised, or disappointed (if he didnt go to the team you wanted him to). Yes, he didnt need to go through all of the circus, he could have just said I’m going to this team next year to play, and people would probably be less angry at him. But in the end, isn’t the decision up to the man? He is the one playing basketball and ultimately chose Miami for whatever reasons he felt was best for him. I get why Clevelanders would… Read more »
Gilbert is a fool. Can we really blame LeBron for leaving this moron. I certainly won’t. I love LBJ he is my favourite player and allways will be.
Can’t wait to see Krolik’s rap up on this. His article yesterday was brilliant, he was able to step back from the obvious emotion of the situation and actually applaud LeBron for the superb play over 7 years.
I have to think if Cleveland had looked after their roster better in the 2005 off season LeBron never leaves.
There’s no reason for LBJ to stay in cleveland. Ownership made nothing but bad decisions the last 2 years, causing the rest of the basketball world to revel in the fortune of CLE not putting a winning squad around LBJ. Jamison, West. Williams … are you serious? The knicks fielded a better supporting cast last year than the Cavs.
For those of you supporting LeGone I’ll tell you Mzr. Gilbert speaks the truth, Leboob is a selfish person who is only in it for himself. He can take the curse to Miami and we will be better off for it. It may take a year or two but We will win before Lemoron does!!!!!!
and who did Dan Gilbert recruit exactly? Look, the attitude of LeBron is unacceptable, that’s for sure, but he knows that he couldn’t win a ring as a Cavalier as long as Gilbert is the owner. All the great players could have been in the same situation if their franchises and owners hadn’t made the right move at the right time. So, it’s not totally LeBron’s fault. I would blame Dan Gilbert more.
I hope you guys have been listening to WKNR. This stuff is gold!
What is the right response from the owner of the team? There is still more to this story we do not know. Gilbert HAS to reply this way to ensure the fans of this team kn ow that he is not going to crawl into a cave and give up. I love the ESPN commentor tonight who said, “Congratulations, Lebron for making a decision.” “Yeah, I made a decision” says Lebron and the 15 people advising me on my decision. Lebron talked about team and wnning, but what team was he talking about? His “team” of advisors, his team of… Read more »
Hey Dan, your team is worst than the Knicks and Clippers!!!
If LBJ hadn’t grown up in northeast ohio, it’d be different.
But then he’s always been a frontrunner – his favorite teams are the Yankees, Cowboys, and Bulls.
Which is amazingly lame.
@LeBron Fanatic:
LeBron said this in April of 2010:
“I got a goal, and it’s a huge goal, and that’s to bring an NBA championship here to Cleveland. And I won’t stop until I get it.”
LeBron is not a man of actions. He failed to bring Cleveland a title when they had more than enough pieces around him.
He goes to Miami, he is second fiddle to Dwyane. He might win a title, might win 5, but his shot at being the greatest ever is gone.
I’m so angry, not even burning a room full of money will ease my pain!
WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
This letter is spot on. Think about it, people: Gilbert spent more money than we can count to recruit guys that his star wanted. The reason we weren’t in the same position as the Heat or Knicks this off-season is that we were gunning to win it all, and Gilbert was willing to break the bank to do it. We’re lucky to have an owner like this. And enough with the “James doesn’t owe Cleveland anything” crap. Breaking up with the city is one thing, but kicking it in the junk on your way out the door (to an audience… Read more »
I’m just amazed that someone with such bad writing skills got rich enough to own an entire basketball team.
No way is Lebron winning a ring this year. I can’t see the 3 plus a bunch of scrubs winning over a 100 game season.
It doesn’t make the situation much better, but I laughed a lot from it and it did lighten the mood some. I loved it up until the point that he guaranteed a championship. Hopefully Windhorst or someone in the coming days will be able to detail what was going on in the Cavs front office during all of this. Were they trying to make trades besides CP3 and Johnny Flynn (really?!)? Were they just sitting back and waiting for LeBron to come back? Hopefully we’ll be able to find out what they were thinking. Were they just that naive about… Read more »
@Trey – totally agree. no rings for both but coming soon for Lebron, i’m not sure when for Dan. Sorry for being honest.
Wow, get off of Dan Gilbert’s back. He just got punched in the gut by the guy he tried to appease for the past few years and we’re pretending to take the high road and say, “Oh gosh, how unprofessional! I never let my emotions get the best of me!”
C’mon now, he can vent if he wants to. I liked the NBA better when players were allowed to get emotional without an automatic T. Same goes for front office guys who show the same kind of dedication and determination.
tthe promises he puts out there are a bit exaggerated and hard to fathom at this point but I like the attitude. Wade’s new bitch just pulled the lamest dick move of all time in sports and deserved that rant.
I’ve got to say I’m impressed by the owners statement and I hope it happens like he says it will. May Karma slap LeBron down in the first round of the playoffs, if not sooner.
Neither has any actions that account for rings…
Dan Gilbert – man of words and promises
Lebron James – man of actions
Thank you, Dan Gilbert. I needed that.
F you, lebron james.
Andrew,
You are very naive if you think Lebron did not have this planned two years ago. That is disloyal. Lebron knew he was leaving regardless. I think Dan’s letter, although surprising, shows passion for the Cavs. It shows he understands the fans base of the Cavs. I apprecaite that. I do not think he can deliver on the promise, but if he did………….what a story!
Trey, I totally agree.
No, this may be a bit emotional and childish but this is awesome. I want this from my owner. He is outraged. Let him hire a GM to be smart and savvy and make all the right basketball moves. Behind that GM I want a fan of my team, someone who is willing (with the right guidance) to do what it takes to win, avenge those who have betrayed us and carry on.
F Yeah.
He probably shouldn’t have gone through with the title guarantee, but I can’t argue with his enthusiasm.
Your owner is a psycho. With hundreds of milliios of dollars.
I can’t help but feel like this is the textbook reason professional advisors tell you to let angry emails sit in your drafts folder for a day before sending them – the tone doesn’t exactly ooze levelheadedness. All the same, it’ll be interesting to see how the heck he’s going to fulfill that guarantee.
no wonder he left. lebron had to deal with this guy for the last 5 years.
on the other hand lebron or his team must have hinted that if you acquired shaq, jamison, mo williams, extend varejao, bring back Z, moon, parker, that he would probably stay.
This letter was classless by Dan Gilbert. LeBron did all he could to win a championship and you could tell it really hurt him to leave Cleveland. But he wants to win and he couldn’t do it with this roster in Cleveland. Gilbert came off as childish to me, and I highly doubt that the Cavs will win a championship before the Heat unless there is something in the works that is HUGE and none of us know about.
Probably not a good professional move, but Cleveland loves Delonte West, so we’ll probably get riled up.
“I PERSONALLY GUARANTEE THAT THE CLEVELAND CAVALIERS WILL WIN AN NBA CHAMPIONSHIP BEFORE THE SELF-TITLED FORMER ‘KING’ WINS ONE”
You can take it to the bank.
– very interesting and exciting. you’re gonna win against the BIG 3 of BOSTON and/or MIAMI? what about the LAKERS? seems like you have planned this for the past 7 years – no wonder LEBRON left.
We’ll try, oh lord we’ll try…to carry on.