Faculty Sponsor
Jackson Miller & Brenda DeVore Marshall
Location
Jereld R. Nicholson Library
Date
5-13-2011 3:00 PM
End Date
5-13-2011 4:30 PM
Subject Area
Communication Arts/Rhetoric
Description
This study focuses on the letter written by Dan Gilbert, the owner of the National Basketball Association’s Cleveland Cavaliers, in response to LeBron James’ decision on July 8, 2010, to play for another franchise. Metaphoric criticism is used to examine this artifact to reveal Gilbert’s motives for fabricating this letter. The discovered metaphors include LeBron as villain, LeBron as native son, LeBron as fallen hero/king/god, and ownership as hero. These separate metaphors coalesce to form the ultimate metaphor of LeBron as devil and expose Gilbert’s true feelings of anguish and betrayal after James’ departure. Particular attention is paid to what these metaphors suggest about the role of a professional athlete and the expectations they are required to fulfill.
Recommended Citation
Valenta, Darren, "Cavaliers, Heroes, and Devils: A Metaphoric Criticism of Dan Gilbert’s Attempt to Dethrone the King of Cleveland" (2011). Humanities and Creative Projects. Event. Submission 12.
https://digitalcommons.linfield.edu/studsymp_cr/2011/all/12
Cavaliers, Heroes, and Devils: A Metaphoric Criticism of Dan Gilbert’s Attempt to Dethrone the King of Cleveland
Jereld R. Nicholson Library
This study focuses on the letter written by Dan Gilbert, the owner of the National Basketball Association’s Cleveland Cavaliers, in response to LeBron James’ decision on July 8, 2010, to play for another franchise. Metaphoric criticism is used to examine this artifact to reveal Gilbert’s motives for fabricating this letter. The discovered metaphors include LeBron as villain, LeBron as native son, LeBron as fallen hero/king/god, and ownership as hero. These separate metaphors coalesce to form the ultimate metaphor of LeBron as devil and expose Gilbert’s true feelings of anguish and betrayal after James’ departure. Particular attention is paid to what these metaphors suggest about the role of a professional athlete and the expectations they are required to fulfill.
