- Break Up With LeBron, the group behind the donation program.
When the sparks of anger were flying fast and hot in the wake of LeBron’s departure to South Beach, many a LeBron jersey in Cleveland went up in flames.
The cathartic process of torching the King’s gear made some fans feel better, but others thought it was a tad wasteful to burn perfectly good clothing that someone could wear.
Break Up With LeBron was part of the latter group and did more than just encourage fans to donate their now useless James jerseys: They organized a collection drive for Clevelanders who wanted to dump their gear and promised to deliver the rags to homeless shelters in Miami.
This article appears in Sep 1-7, 2010.
Seriously? They are going to turn away free clothes that could go to good use? Why don’t they ask the homeless if they would like some gently used LBJ clothes instead of having to wear the same few clothes over and over? If they don’t want the clothes, maybe the Haitians or Chilleans (is that how you spell it?) wouldn’t mind some free clothes. I can understand them maybe not wanting a bunch of shirts that say Cleveland or Cavaliers on the front being worn all over the city but I don’t see the mayor offering the homeless a bunch of free clothing. I have several really nice LBJ, Shaq, and Delonte West shirts that could go to good use. I’ll either toss them or use them for rags, but I would much rather donate the items to someone who will use them.
Personally, I think the Cavs should offer a discount in exchange for an old LBJ jersey. We spent a lot of money on this stuff and would like to replace it. This way the fans get a break on new gear, the Cavs get $ from the sales, and the less fortunate could get free clothes. Everyone wins.