Witness Protection

The LeDouche James free agency melodrama that ultimately culminated in his decision to um...take his talents to South Beach has created all sorts of reactions throughout the country. Cleveland fans are understandably irate, while the incredibly loyal Miami Heat fan base is beside itself. Everyone else seems to accept LeDouche for what he is - a phony who can now never be considered an all-time great player. Hurricane LeDouche tore through Cleveland at a ferocity not seen since the Browns left in 1996.

The issue is that LeDouche played Cleveland, the Cavs, and every team that courted him into thinking that they stood any chance of signing him. LeDouche has known for some time that he wasn't going to be playing in Cleveland long term. Why else would he force his way into free agency?

But instead of being a man and coming out and saying it, LeDouche lead everyone on like the hot girl in high school who starts getting rides from the poor schmuck who just got his driver's license.

The Cavs organization bent over backwards to put together a team of player's that could complement LeDouche. When he needed a point guard, they snatched up Mo Williams. When he needed some muscle after Dwight Howard manhandled the Cavs, they brought in the Shaqtus. When they desperately needed an all-star power forward to help them get over the hump in this year's playoffs, they made a deal deal for Antawn Jamison. And lest we forget about the humanitarian effort the Cavs made when they found a lover for LeDouche's mother.

Nobody understands what Cleveland's going through better than Seattle sports fans. We lost Randy Johnson, Ken Griffey Jr. and Alex Rodriguez in a 29-month span. But aside from losing a great player, we lost and ENTIRE FRANCHISE! (Yes, I know Cleveland lost the Browns temporarily. Seattle is not getting a NBA team in the next 10 years). Now Seattle is known as the best soccer city in America (yay!). Beat that.

LeDouche has received considerable praise for leaving $30 million on the table to sign with Miami. So in that regard, his situation is similar to Junior's. But Junior didn't force his way to the Yankees (or as my grandma's Puerto Rican care taker says, "the Jankees"). He forced his way to Cincinnati so he could be closer to his family. Instead of leaving home like LeBron, Junior went home.

Yet the overall feeling I get from this deal is reminiscent of Pay-Fraud's $252 million payday that followed months of Pay-Fraud talking about how much he loved Seattle and wanted to stay there. The Pay-Fraud deal was solely driven by money. LeDouche clearly is not. But the way both athletes carried themselves and put on a front for fans and other organizations is eerily similar.

Almost ten years later, Pay-Fraud still remains one of the most despised player's in baseball. Ten years from now, don't be surprised if LeDouche is held in the same regard.