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
Open Access
Closed
Topics
writing across the curriculum multimodality

Citation Context

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No articles in this index cite this work.

Cites in this index (0)

No references match articles in this index.

Also cites 6 works outside this index ↓
  1. (2013)
    “The Passion of the Tebow: Sports Media and Heroic Language in the Tragic Frame,”
    Critical Studies in Media Communication  ↗
  2. (2014)
    “Manufacturing a Messiah: How Nike and LeBron James Co-Constructed the Legend of King James,”
    Communication and Sport  ↗
  3. (2010)
    “Risky Dispositions: Thick Moral Description and Character-Talk in Sports Culture,”
    Southern Communication Journal  ↗
  4. (2011)
    “Saved at Home: Christian Branding and Faith Nights in the ‘Church of Baseball,’”
    Quarterly Journal of Speech  ↗
  5. (2008)
    “Doing Teams While Being the Body: Managing Spiritual/Secular Dialectical Tensions of Def…
    Journal of Communication and Religion  ↗
  6. (2006)
    “The Foolish Father and the Economics of Grace,”
    Expository Times  ↗
CrossRef global citation count: 4 View in citation network →

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