Rhetoric & Public Affairs Mar 2018

Religion, Sport, and the Return of the Prodigal Son: The Postsecular Rhetoric of LeBron James’s 2014 “I’m Coming Home” Open Letter

Denise M. Bostdorff ; Daniel J. O’Rourke

Abstract

AbstractIn 2010, LeBron James, “The Chosen One,” humiliated Northeast Ohio by announcing on nationwide television that he was leaving the Cavaliers to play for Miami. James announced his return to Cleveland four years later through an open letter that set off euphoria in the region. This essay offers a postsecular framework to explain: (1) how James’s messianic image established a context in which his departure, in tandem with the way he announced his decision, made James a “sinner” in the eyes of Cleveland fans, and (2) how his open letter adapted the parable of the Prodigal Son to depict him as the son of Northeast Ohio who had made mistakes, rather than sinned and, simultaneously, as the wise father who was forgiving of others. James portrayed his departure as a necessary step in gaining maturity, yet—much like the Prodigal Son—admitted to a revelation about his relationship with Northeast Ohio.

Journal
Rhetoric & Public Affairs
Published
2018-03-01
DOI
10.14321/rhetpublaffa.21.1.0001
CompPile
Search in CompPile ↗
Open Access
Closed
Topics
rhetorical criticism
Export
BibTeX RIS

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (0)

No articles in this index cite this work.

References (128)

  1. (2010)
    “Cavaliers Fans Ready to Vent as LeBron James Returns,”
  2. (2014)
    “I’m Coming Home,”
  3. (2014)
    “Back to the Future,”
  4. (2010)
    “Akron Hates You!”
  5. (2014)
    “Cleveland Cheers the Return of LeBron James,”
Show all 128 →
  1. (2001)
    The Clinton Scandals and the Politics of Image Restoration
  2. (2014)
    Religion and Sports in American Culture
  3. (2012)
    “Post-Secular Society: Consumerism and the Democratization of Religion,”
  4. (2015)
    “Sport,”
  5. (2013)
    “The Passion of the Tebow: Sports Media and Heroic Language in the Tragic Frame,”
    Critical Studies in Media Communication  ↗
  6. (2014)
    “Manufacturing a Messiah: How Nike and LeBron James Co-Constructed the Legend of King James,”
    Communication and Sport  ↗
  7. (1994)
    “The Tonya Harding Controversy: An Analysis of Image Restoration Strategies,”
  8. “The Image Repair Media Interview as Apologia and Antapologia: Marion Jones on the Oprah …
  9. (2010)
    “Risky Dispositions: Thick Moral Description and Character-Talk in Sports Culture,”
    Southern Communication Journal  ↗
  10. (2013)
    “Reflections on Communication and Sport: On Fanship and Social Relationships,”
  11. (1973)
    The Layman’s Parallel Bible
  12. (1961)
    The Rhetoric of Religion: Studies in Logology
  13. (2004)
    “Religious Belief and Scholarship: A Complex Relationship,”
    Journal of Communication and Religion
  14. “Sport,”
  15. (2007)
    “Sport,”
  16. (2012)
    “Sport,”
  17. “Sport,”
  18. “Sport,”
  19. (1988)
    The Joy of Sports: End Zones, Bases, Baskets, Balls, and the Consecration of the American…
  20. (1973)
    The Sociology of Sport
  21. “Sport,”
  22. (2014)
    “Sports in Post-Secular America: The ‘Tebow Phenomenon,’”
    Implicit Religion
  23. (1996)
    “The Category of the Religious: Blindspot of Contemporary Media Theory?”
    Critical Studies in Mass Communication
  24. “Post-Secular Society,”
  25. Secular Steeples
  26. (2014)
    “Biblical and Faith-Based Movies: In Hollywood to Stay?”
  27. (2016)
    “New Set of TV Shows Tackle Complexities of Religion,”
  28. (2011)
    “Saved at Home: Christian Branding and Faith Nights in the ‘Church of Baseball,’”
    Quarterly Journal of Speech  ↗
  29. (2012)
    “Deepak Chopra: Spirituality in the Age of Social Media,”
  30. (2012)
    “Introduction: What Is Religion? What Is Popular Culture? How Are They Related?”
  31. Secular Steeples
  32. Religion and Sports in American Culture
  33. “Sport,”
  34. “Saved at Home,”
  35. (2008)
    “Doing Teams While Being the Body: Managing Spiritual/Secular Dialectical Tensions of Def…
    Journal of Communication and Religion  ↗
  36. Religion and Sports in American Culture
  37. “Sports in Post-Secular America,”
  38. Religion and Sports in American Culture
  39. (2017)
    “Cuyahoga River Fire,”
  40. (2010)
    “Mayor Perk Hair Fire 2,”
  41. (1994)
    Cities of the Heartland: The Rise and Fall of the Industrial Midwest
  42. (2004)
    “‘Boy Mayor’ Kucinich Took Charge in Utility Debt Crisis,”
  43. (2009)
    “Cleveland Rocks,”
  44. “Talk of the Town,”
  45. (2015)
    “Becoming the King: LeBron James,”
  46. Redemption of the King
  47. (2002)
    “Ahead of His Class,”
  48. “Manufacturing a Messiah,”
  49. Redemption of the King
  50. “Manufacturing a Messiah,”
  51. (2003)
    “Book of Dimes,”
  52. (2008)
    “Witness,”
  53. “Manufacturing a Messiah,”
  54. (2008)
    “LeBron James,”
  55. (2014)
    “Executive Order: Ted Strickland Tried to Help Dan Gilbert Keep LeBron James in Cleveland…
  56. (2010)
    “Cavalier Fans Ready to Vent as LeBron James Returns,”
  57. Redemption of the King
  58. (2010)
    “LeBron James and ‘The Decision,’”
  59. (2010)
    “LeBron James Heading to South Beach,”
  60. (2010)
    “Cleveland–Akron Fans Saddened”
  61. Redemption of the King
  62. (2010)
    “Rise,”
  63. (2010)
    “Manufacturing a Messiah,”
  64. (1949)
    The Hero with a Thousand Faces
  65. (2011)
    “LeBron Apologizes for ‘The Decision,’”
  66. Religion and Sports in American Culture
  67. (2011)
    “LeBron James Finally Apologized, So Is It Time for Cleveland to Forgive Him?”
  68. “NBA Championships,”
  69. (2014)
    “Exclusive: How LeBron James and His Foundation Are Rescuing Urban School Kids When They …
  70. (2014)
    “Back to the Future,”
  71. (2014)
    “An Agent of Change,”
  72. “How Cleveland and Sports Illustrated Won.”
  73. (2014)
    “College Sports, Losing Seasons, and Image Repair through Open Letters to Fans,”
    Communication and Sport
  75. The Layman’s Parallel Bible
  76. (2007)
    “The Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11–32),”
    Expository Times
  77. (2002)
    The Parables of Jesus: A Commentary
  78. (2006)
    “The Prodigal Father: A Postmodern Homily,”
    New Blackfriars
  79. (2006)
    “The Foolish Father and the Economics of Grace,”
    Expository Times  ↗
  80. “The Prodigal Father,”
  81. The Clinton Scandals
  82. “I’m Coming Home,”
  83. “I’m Coming Home.”
  84. The Parables of Jesus
  85. “I’m Coming Home.”
  86. “I’m Coming Home.”
  87. “I’m Coming Home.”
  88. “I’m Coming Home.”
  89. “I’m Coming Home,”
  90. “I’m Coming Home.”
  91. The Clinton Scandals
  92. “I’m Coming Home.”
  93. “I’m Coming Home.”
  94. “I’m Coming Home.”
  95. “I’m Coming Home.”
  96. “I’m Coming Home.”
  97. “I’m Coming Home.”
  98. “I’m Coming Home.”
  99. “I’m Coming Home.”
  100. “I’m Coming Home.”
  101. (2014)
    “Fans Cheer LeBron’s Return to Cleveland,”
  102. (2014)
    “LeBron James ‘I’m Coming Home,’”
  103. (2014)
    “Akron Excited about LeBron James’s Return to Cleveland,”
  104. “Fans React to LeBron James’s Return”
  105. (2014)
    “Fans React to LeBron James’s Return”
  106. (2014)
    “Sports Illustrated Writer Who Broke LeBron James Homecoming Story Talks to Fox 8,”
  107. “Cleveland Cheers the Return.”
  108. “It’s Official: Ohioans Forgive LeBron James, According to New Poll,”
  109. (2014)
    “LeBron James’s Return to Cavaliers: See the Front Page of The Plain Dealer,”
  110. (2014)
    “Bishop Uses LeBron ‘Decision 2.0’ as Lesson in Sunday Sermon,”
  111. (2007)
    “Ritual Disorder and the Contractual Morality of Sport: A Case Study in Race, Class, and …
    Rhetoric & Public Affairs
  112. (2008)
    “Do Economists Reach a Conclusion on Subsidies for Sports Franchises, Stadiums, and Mega-…
    Econo-Journal Watch
  113. “The LeBron James Business Model.”
  114. (2014)
    “Re-established 2014,”
  115. (2014)
    “Sprite Presents: LeBron James’s First Home Game,”
  116. (2014)
    “Together,”
  117. (1994)
    “Values Advocacy: Enhancing Organizational Images, Deflecting Public Criticism, and Groun…
    Public Relations Review
  118. (2015)
    “Exclusive: How LeBron James and His Foundation”
  119. (2015)
    “LeBron James, University of Akron Pave Way for College Scholarships for Inner-City Children,”
  120. (2016)
    “LeBron: Muhammed Ali’s Success in Ring Secondary to Work Outside It,”
  121. (2016)
    “Believeland,”
  122. “Believeland,”
  123. “Religion.”
CrossRef global citation count: 4 View in citation network → Build reading path →

Related Articles

  1. Computers and Composition Jun 2026
    Navigating platform algorithms: Global south feminist activists’ rhetorical and composition practices in digital advocacy on social media ↗
    Kalpana Shrestha
    rhetorical criticism social media gender and writing
  2. Computers and Composition Jun 2026
    Legacies, commitments, and new challenges: The Sweetland Digital Rhetoric Collaborative interviews three generations of Computers and Composition editors ↗
    Ali Alalem; Alyse Campbell; Thais Rodrigues Cons; Funmilola Fadairo; Nicole Koyuki Golden
    rhetorical criticism collaborative writing digital rhetoric
  3. Computers and Composition Jun 2026
    How Baldwin's voice moved Cambridge: Activation contours, mimesis, and a computational approach to rhetoric's sensorium ↗
    David M. Rieder; Michael R. Jackson
    rhetorical criticism
  4. Written Communication May 2026
    Genres Fall Apart: Recuperating the Centrifugal in Rhetorical Genre Analysis ↗
    Rebecca Lorimer Leonard; Angela Rounsaville
    rhetorical criticism genre theory multilingual writers literacy studies community literacy
  5. Business and Professional Communication Quarterly May 2026
    Andrew Carnegie and the Rhetorical History of Business and Professional Communication ↗
    Joe Edward Hatfield
    rhetorical criticism teacher development professional writing archival research