LeBron James’ agent should have known by now that LeBron talking to a magazine isn’t a very good idea.

LeBron said that Dan Gilbert never cared about LeBron (direct quote).

“I don’t think he ever cared about LeBron,” James is quoted as saying.

Thank you, LeBron, but we already know you’re an egomaniac, so we don’t need you to speak in third-person just to remind us.

(From a factual standpoint, Gilbert came close to ceding the team to LeBron. He targeted free agents with LeBron’s approval and he let LeBron’s friends ride the team plane. Partick Hruby sets LeBron straight on the meaning of the post-breakup letter at ESPN Page 2.)

And if you wanted Clevelanders (and all other fans who can identify with an egomaniac star leaving in celebrity fashion) to remain at least lukewarm to seeing your face on TV, you shouldn’t have said this:

“And Clevelanders, because they were the bigger-city kids when we were growing up, looked down on us. … So we didn’t actually like Cleveland. We hated Cleveland growing up. There’s a lot of people in Cleveland we still hate to this day.”

I’ll say it again: LeBron can play for whoever he wants, but he is a public figure, and as such, he will be judged by the people who are essentially paying his endorsement salary–the fans. Fans from any team West of New York City have experienced celebrity athletes with over-inflated self-worth carrying on like they don’t care about their fans and don’t owe anything to their teams, and those fans will not be moved to buy a product pitched by LeBron.

Nor will just about anyone who hears him continue to refer to himself in third-person. Seems LeBron is the kind of athlete who needs to be on TV to promote himself but who would do better just staying off TV if he wants to stop his image free fall.

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