Witnesses No Longer – A Cleveland Monument Falls
Nike has always been well known for creating stunning visual homages for their iconic athlete endorsers. In recent memory there is none bigger than the tribute to LeBron James when he was drafted by, and started playing for, his hometown team – the Cleveland Cavaliers. After this week’s ‘Decision‘ to join Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh and form the new ‘Big Three’ (the term originally coined by my beloved Celtics in the Bird/Parish/McHale era), the city of Cleveland decided it had had enough with Nike’s larger than life building wrap and started the process of removing all traces of King James from it’s public edifices. Athletes come and go – some have more impact than others. LeBron was a beacon of hope to the economically distressed Rust Belt. I wonder if he’ll need ‘Witness Protection’ when he returns twice a year to play his former team.
