LeBron James' Mother Gloria's Alleged Affair with Delonte West May Have Changed the Course of NBA History

LeBron James' mother, Gloria James, is, according to one theory, one of the key reasons why James has decided not to play in New York City with the New York Knicks.

ESPN host Colin Cowherd said on his radio show today that Gloria James has been involved in a potentially embarrassing situation; a situation that Cowherd claims the New York Post was set to report on before being 'begged' not to by representatives of LeBron.

Cowherd said that he was prohibited by his network, ESPN, from discussing the specifics of the situation. He said only that New York Post writers had staked out Gloria James' house and presumably had embarrassing information concerning her. Cowherd's take on it was that James realized that living life in the big city fishbowl that is New York City would have created too much of a risk of embarrassment for him and his mother, with whom he is very close. Cleveland media, on the other hand, is much more protective of its local athletes.

While Cowherd had to stop short of saying it, it seemed very likely that the story that he was referring to was Gloria James' alleged sexual affair with LeBron's teammate Delonte West. It has been said by many, including NBA Hall of Famer Calvin Murphy, that West and Gloria James had a sexual affair that lasted for an unspecified amount of time.

As the story goes, LeBron James found out about the affair during Cleveland's conference final playoff series against the Boston Celtics, and was too stunned to focus and play at anywhere near the level he is normally capable of. His performance did fall dramatically short during that series and was the key reason that the Cavaliers lost to the Celtics.

While New York City is widely thought to have a huge advantage in attracting free agent athletes due to its bright lights and sheer size, the downside to playing in New York City, particularly for those trying to protect family members, is probably under-reported at times. As the nation's largest city, New York has a fiercely competitive media and athletes' personal lives are often considered fair game.

If what Colin Cowherd is reporting is accurate, this is the classic example of the double edged sword of the bright lights, big city mentality in the Big Apple. While many are attracted to it and end up loving it (see Reggie Jackson in a previous generation), many more have a very difficult time adjusting to it and living their lives in normalcy.

Of course, if Gloria James' alleged affair with Delonte West really happened, one wonders what she is thinking tonight as it may well have played a large part in preventing LeBron James from playing in the biggest market in the country with one of the NBA's signature teams in the world's most famous arena, Madison Square Garden.

Source: Staff Reporter, "ESPN told NOT to talk about LeBron's Moms fling with Delonte West", playerpress.com