Wednesday, July 28th, 2010 at 10:30 am  |  29 responses

LeBron James Will Continue to Bike in Akron

The fundraiser put on by LBJ and friends in James’ hometown will go on despite his new locale, albeit on a much smaller scale. The Beacon Journal reports: “This summer, LeBron James is going to take his talents to South Main. His annual bike-athon still will roll through Akron, although the event will be scaled back from previous years. James will hand out bikes to 400 local kids on the morning of Aug. 7, then join the mile-long ride down South Main Street. The eight-mile trek for adults and kids that normally follows the short ride has been canceled. With overall interest in the King for Kids Bikeathon down from past years, city leaders said Tuesday they couldn’t justify the $25,000 spent in previous years for police officers and firefighters to staff the event. ‘It didn’t seem to be in balance for us to make the same investment,’ Deputy Mayor Dave Lieberth said. Akron’s expenses will be substantially reduced by not having to block traffic for the longer ride, which crossed the All-America Bridge. Lieberth said he isn’t sure how much the scaled-back coverage will cost. The bike-athon is the latest event Akron has downsized this year because of strained finances. Keith Estabrook, James’ spokesman, said scaling back the event was in response to the city’s budget problems and was unrelated to James’ recent decision to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers and sign with the Miami Heat. He also said there were no concerns about James’ safety. ‘That absolutely was not a factor in the decision to scale back,’ he said. James remains committed to the bike-athon and to Akron and ‘looks forward to a great event,’ Estabrook said.”

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  • Allenp Posted: Jul.28 at 10:39 am
    Lebron should have just donated the money needed to maintain the longer route, duh. I mean, dude probably spends 25gs on socks in a given year.
    Most likely, they dont want the longer route because it would be harder for police to keep all the crazies away. But, I could be wrong.

  • MikeC. Posted: Jul.28 at 10:43 am
    I’ve never been to Ohio, so I’m not sure if the people of Akron know how to make piss balloons. It seems they may come in handy in the near future.

  • Ryan Jones Posted: Jul.28 at 10:45 am
    Worth noting here that Akron and Cleveland are actually different towns, about 40 miles away from each other. If he were going to ride his bike through downtown Cleveland, I’d be worried. But Akron is his hometown, and not, shockingly, where the Cavs play. I imagine he’ll be okay.

  • JStar Posted: Jul.28 at 10:59 am
    Wow why wouldnt lebron just donate the money….

  • Allenp Posted: Jul.28 at 11:07 am
    Ryan
    Didn’t people in Akron still have some problems with Bron for the high school he chose? Plus, if it’s only 40 miles, you don’t think the crazies in cleveland would take a short road trip? I mean, that’s like a commute to work.

  • Yesse Posted: Jul.28 at 11:12 am
    And people in Ohio called LeBron a sell out. I hope LeBron makes it out alive from there.

  • yo son Posted: Jul.28 at 11:22 am
    If he does not, you can feel good calling Cleveland fans sell outs. It is only a sport. Lebron was not on path to cure the HIV.

  • T-Money Posted: Jul.28 at 11:42 am
    The reports that I’ve read say that Akron’s not mad at him, Cleveland is. They see him as the hometown kid who made it regardless of where he plays. I also read a report saying that the black community in NE Ohio is still behind him 100%.

  • Ali Posted: Jul.28 at 11:58 am
    Can you say security like the president!!! Hahaha….

  • michael Posted: Jul.28 at 12:15 pm
    hang on, the same guy who played his heart out for a crappy franchise who were very lucky to land him by virtue of the previously mentioned crapiness, made them relevant, provided a sh!t load of entertainment for the fans and unfortunately could not quite get a ring (by age 25) decided to play basketball in another city and he has to be protected from crazies at a fricken charity event?? what a sad world we live in. Lebron owes the people of cleveland/akron/ohio/the world absolutely nothing.

  • JTaylor21 Posted: Jul.28 at 12:24 pm
    Sadly, i envision a grassy knoll reenactment. Anything could happen with those asylum-bound cleveland crazies. Stay safe bra

  • ClydeSays Posted: Jul.28 at 1:34 pm
    LeBron should donate the $$ to keep the longer route & expand on it. It’s tax deductible for him, so why not? He’s supposedly a biking nut & an investor in Cannondale bikes, so scaling back the invent in his hometown doesn’t make sense. Incidently, Chris Paul showed up for this last year. But that wasn’t tampering!

  • ClutchPerformer Posted: Jul.28 at 1:35 pm
    Yeah he needs to hire obamas security, and be on heavy alert for flying tomatoes and launching burning jerseys lol

  • Ryan Jones Posted: Jul.28 at 1:40 pm
    Allen: No question he hasn’t been universally loved in his hometown since he first made a name for himself. Just saying it’s not nearly as intense as what happens in Cleveland. Dude still has a lot of people in Akron.

  • T-Money Posted: Jul.28 at 1:55 pm
    Bron was putting up shots at St. V a couple of days after the decision. Seriously, I don’t think he can be touched in Akron. Now his first game back at the Q… that will be must-see TV. I’m fully expecting a drunk fan to jump on the court and try to punch him or something. The chants and the posters are going to be ridic… until Miami leads by 25 midway through the 2nd.

  • jay Posted: Jul.28 at 2:52 pm
    the city of cleveland will go nuts

  • total scrotal implosion Posted: Jul.28 at 3:35 pm
    He might get lit up with a paintball marker

  • The D Train Posted: Jul.28 at 3:53 pm
    http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2010/04/cops_feces_and_urine_thrown_at.html … just saying that maybe he should rock a hazmat suit just to be safe

  • rich Posted: Jul.28 at 5:11 pm
    they should really do a sweep for roadside bombs from angry fans and delonte

  • The Seed Posted: Jul.28 at 6:02 pm
    He should just annouce that he is taking his bike ride to Miami, because they have better kids to help.

  • The Black Rick Kamla Posted: Jul.28 at 7:23 pm
    @RyanJones this is precisely why Lebron owes nothing to those fans in Cleveland, he’s not even from there.

  • The Black Rick Kamla Posted: Jul.28 at 7:23 pm
    @RyanJones this is precisely why Lebron owes nothing to those fans in Cleveland, he’s not even from there.

  • Dacre Posted: Jul.28 at 8:38 pm
    *singing QUEEN* “I want to ride my bicycle…I want to ride my bike”

  • Jackie Moon Posted: Jul.28 at 10:45 pm
    Arash Markazi is credible, no? Then why is Lebron implying that he is not?

  • R2J Posted: Jul.29 at 1:47 am
    Cleveland needs to do what Oklahoma city is doing and that is start fresh and rebuild. Akron on the other hand seems to be taking it better than I expected. I’m sure hurts for some people but trust me there is always a superstar waiting in line and he might be better than LeBron.

  • tomtom Posted: Jul.29 at 7:25 am
    HAHAHAHHAHAH i cant believe nobody gave @mike c any love for that comment. hahaha

  • Don Posted: Jul.29 at 8:20 am
    SECURITY…….

  • Hedo Turkeyglu Posted: Jul.31 at 5:28 pm
    So, which talents go to South Beach?

  • JohnnyC Posted: Aug.2 at 5:22 am
    All this ‘Akron is not Cleveland’ talk is rubbish in context of pro sports, and specifically the Cavs – for first 10 yrs of LeQuit’s life the Cavs played in Richfield, only 15 miles from downtown Akron, and a mere 5 miles from James’ Bath, OH mansion. As to James’ not owing Ohioans anything, it was Ohio taxpayers who paid for his housing, clothing, food and recreational facilities while he was growing up, his mother being more concerned with passing the pipe with pals than raising her son; various patrons funded his SVSM schooling, along with other perks (e.g., the Hummer) as well. Beginning with his bullying classmates at SVSM, and continuing to more recent episodes like he and his posse walking out on $2500 restaurant tabs – not to mention game 5 v. Celts, and “The Decision” – be assured that LeQuit has burned bridges with anyone in northern Ohio who isn’t so indiscriminating that they can be bought off with a gift bicycle. While his talent may be his own, it took a community to nurture it, and in the ways that matter the most, he’s displayed a contempt for that extended community which has justly been returned.

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