1. The point Albom is trying to make very clear is that Lebron James was not targeted because of his race. James went from being one of America's most beloved athletes to the sixth-most dislike athlete as a result of his enormous ego. Lebron lost fans because of his arrogance. He didn't lose all white fans or all black fans, but people of all races were up in arms after he pompously made the announcement that he would now be playing for the Miami Heat. Albom is tired of black athletes blaming all of their controversy on race just because it is easy to do so.
2. I agree with Albom completely. Why should a black man be able to blame the results of his own arrogance on race, while the white man can not hide behind the race issue? The general public needs to understand that just because a black man is targeted, it's not just because the color of his skin. The way Lebron announced that he was leaving Cleveland implied that he believed was God's gift to basketball, and naturally he was attacked for it. Lebron's popularity fell apart due to his own actions, not because he is black.
3. In my opinion, Albom's strongest point comes at the end of his essay, when he references Brett Favre's leaving Green Bay. "By the way, there was similar vitriol toward Brett Favre after he left Green Bay. Ego. Money. Why didn't CNN ask Favre if it was about race?" -Mitch Albom. This quote combined with Albom's assertion at the beginning of his essay, the ridiculousness of black athletes being able to blame their controversy on race, perfectly portrays his point. Brett Favre is a white man, therefore he could not blame his troubles on race, but Lebron James, a black man, can? It doesn't make any sense, especially when the arrogance of Lebron surpasses that of Favre. In his essay, Albom is basically pleading with his readers to realize that just because it is easy to blame such conflict on race, they must take one's actions and ego into account.
