Last night, NBA superstar LeBron James ended months of speculation when he announced he’d decided to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers and join the Miami Heat. James, who failed to win an NBA title in his seven years in Cleveland, declared that “joining the Miami Heat gives me the best opportunity to win championships.”
Indeed, James has said for months that his decision would “not [be] about the money. It’s all about winning for me.” Yet the right wing, ever eager to advance its anti-tax crusade, is trying to spin James’ decision into a crass, ideological argument:
– The New York Post declared, “If LeBron James goes to the Miami Heat instead of the Knicks, blame our dysfunctional lawmakers in Albany, who have saddled top-earning New Yorkers with the highest state and city income taxes in the nation.” [7/1/2010]
– The Drudge Report asked “High Taxes Influence Decision?…” [7/9/2010]
– The Washington Examiner argued that James chose Miami over the Chicago Bulls in order to “avoid Illinois taxes.” [7/8/2010]
Needless to say, James joined Miami in order to play on a championship-caliber team. After declaring that his decision was never about money, he backed up this statement by agreeing to “[take] less money” in order to play alongside fellow Olympic gold medalists Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.
Nevertheless, the right wing is all too happy to make up new conspiracies to score political points. Even if means putting a spin move on LeBron.
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