LeBron James was once my favorite NBA player. That was until July 8 when he announced during his one-hour segment “The Decision” that he would trade in his Cleveland Cavaliers jersey for a Miami Heat uniform. I truly enjoyed watching him play and after all this hoopla, I’m siding with the state of Ohio. Sure, he’s a great player, but attitude and arrogance is a major turn off. One ESPN reporter even stated, “All basketball players are arrogant, but he did the mistake of showing it.” Ok, fine, go play for another team, but don’t embarrass your previous team and fans ON NATIONAL TV in the process.

On Monday, Nike released Rise, a 90-second spot in an attempt to mend LeBron’s image. To date, the video has attracted more than 500,000 views on YouTube and aired during last night’s big match-up between the Heat and Celtics. First, I should admit that I really do love Nike commercials. They are creative, entertaining and leave me thinking “WOW, that was good!” Take for instance LT’s Electric Glide released in January. The phrase “What it do” will never be forgotten. Nike videos have produced endless conversations and sometimes, controversy. LeBron’s commercial is no exception.

So why did Nike create this video? Each year, The Q Scores Company conducts a poll to assess how likeable sports personalities are. LeBron went from being a favorite to the sixth most disliked sports personality. Nike’s commercial is an attempt to repair his image and has little to do with selling shoes. I polled a few of my friends to get their thoughts on the video and here are some responses I received:

“I like it. It doesn’t make me like him, but I like the creativeness behind it.”

“He needs to focus more on playing basketball and take attention away from him rather than bring it on.”

“Smart move for Nike because it’s already being talked about all over ESPN”

“People hate him now and any chance he has at changing his reputation will happen over time and not through a commercial. Look at the Tiger Woods commercial…that didn’t change anything.”

So, did you like the commercial? Why or why not? Will it help mend LeBron’s reputation?

The Pacific Southwest region awards includes San Diego, Bakersfield, Palm Springs, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Santa Maria, California, and Las Vegas, Nevada. Well done and congratulations to Brian!!