Haters of comic sans font may be as relieved as fans of the Cleveland Cavaliers. After LeBron James announced that he would be returning to the Cavaliers after four seasons with the Miami Heat, there was no vitriolic letter from any NBA team owner using the reviled font.
While Miami Heat owner Mickey Arison expressed his disappointment in James' decision to return the Cavaliers, he also thanked the four-time NBA MVP for his efforts and accomplishments. Since taking his talents to South Beach in July 2010, James led the Heat to two NBA titles and four appearances in the NBA Finals.
Arison's measured response to the news of James' departure was quite different from the reaction of Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert in 2010. Gilbert famously reacted to James' choice of team and decision by publishing an open letter, using comic sans font. He slammed James for "cowardly behavior" and railed against the "narcissistic, self-promotional" nature of the announcement on ESPN. The letter was finally, fully removed from the Cavaliers' official website just days before James announced his return in 2014.
CLICK HERE for full text of Gilbert's 2010 letter.
"To make the move I needed the support of my wife and my mom, who can be very tough. The letter from Dan Gilbert, the booing of the Cleveland fans, the jerseys being burned -- seeing all that was hard for them," James told Lee Jenkins of Sports Illustrated in announcing his decision to return to his home state. "My emotions were more mixed. It was easy to say, 'OK, I don’t want to deal with these people ever again.' But then you think about the other side. What if I were a kid who looked up to an athlete, and that athlete made me want to do better in my own life, and then he left? How would I react? I’ve met with Dan, face-to-face, man-to-man. We’ve talked it out. Everybody makes mistakes. I’ve made mistakes as well. Who am I to hold a grudge?"
After James revealed his decision on Friday, Gilbert also seemed ready to put the past behind him.