Not all divorces are forever—Lebron remarries his hometown team

Matthew R. Arnold of Arnold & Smith, PLLC answers the question “How can an attorney help me with my Divorce or Separation in North Carolina?”

When Lebron James announced on live television that he was taking his talents to South Beach, he set off a very public and very intense public firestorm. Cleveland Cavaliers fans burned James’ Cavaliers jersey in the street. Some said if he ever wanted to come back, they wouldn’t take him. It looked to be a very messy and very public divorce.

lebron free throw Charlotte Mecklenburg Divorce Attorney North Carolina Family Law LawyerCleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert addressed a letter after James’ announcement to “All of Northeast Ohio and Cleveland Cavaliers Supporters” saying Lebron “deserted” Cleveland. He wrote that Lebron’s announcement came after a “several day, narcissistic, self-promotional build-up.” Cavalier fans did not deserve that “kind of cowardly betrayal,” Gilbert said.

Ouch!

LeBron kicked off his Miami campaign during the “Recovery Summer” with an announcement that he planned to bring as many as eight NBA titles back to South Beach. That was oh-so 2010.

The Heat teams led by LeBron were upset by the Dallas Mavericks in the 2011 finals, then won back-to-back titles in 2012 and 2013—true to the form—before being trounced by the San Antonio Spurs in 2014.

Maybe it was that trouncing, or maybe it was wistfulness—a sense of missing the region of his birth coupled with a feeling that he’d left things unfinished in Cleveland—that made LeBron reverse course and return home.

First he had to meet Gilbert, the Cavaliers’ owner. The two had not spoken since LeBron’s departure and Gilbert’s letter. As Gilbert prepared to meet LeBron in secret, a week before LeBron announced he was returning, he said he felt like “every guy seeing his ex-wife after the divorce.” In the end, he said, he felt like a marriage that had been good for years was ruined by one bad night. Whether LeBron was returning or not, Gilbert said, he wanted to clear the air. He wanted to apologize.

To his surprise, LeBron felt the same way. He too wanted to apologize for his actions, for the way he left, for the way he had arranged things. With the past behind them, now they both could look to the future—they could work together to bring the Cavaliers’ first NBA championship home to Cleveland.

Human relationships—within and outside of the NBA—can be tenuous and complicated. Few if any feature as much at stake as the relationship called marriage. Many end messily—as LeBron’s first tenure did in Cleveland—many trail on gracefully, seemingly without end. A few end and, after a time, begin again.

A California State University Professor studied 1,001 couples around the world who had reunited after divorcing. Her study showed that just six-percent of couples married, divorced and remarried the same person. Most couples who reunited—72-percent—stayed together. The reason? The researcher chalked it up to better communication.

Couples that have put each other through the proverbial ringer of divorce but somehow come out on the other side without harboring a lifetime of animosity tend to be more self-reflective, open to communication and hesitant to assign blame. These are qualities that can benefit couples in any relationship, not just those enjoying their second go-round.

If you find yourself facing a complicated family law matter, then you need the help of experienced family law attorneys in Charlotte, North Carolina who can help guide you through the often confusing process of divorce. Please contact Arnold & Smith, PLLC today at (704) 370-2828 or find additional resources here.

 

 

About the Author

ARNOLD&SMITH_243 3.jpgMatthew Arnold is a Managing Member of Arnold & Smith, PLLC, where he focuses on the areas of family law, divorce, child custody, child support, alimony and equitable distribution.

Mr. Arnold was raised in Charlotte, where he graduated from Providence Senior High School. He attended Belmont Abbey College, where he graduated cum laude, before attending law school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on a full academic scholarship.

In his free time, Mr. Arnold enjoys golfing and spending time with his wife and three children.

 

 

Sources:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/cavaliers/2014/07/11/lebron-james-return-cleveland-cavaliers-contract-miami-heat/12444643/

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=5365704

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/administration-kicks-recovery-summer-with-groundbreakings-and-events-across-country

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pT-I8jQDQ7c

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-10-23/features/sc-fam-1023-divorce-reunite-20121023_1_divorce-process-couples-relationship

 

 

Image Credit

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Lebron_James#mediaviewer/File:Lebron_james_freethrow.jpg

 

 

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https://www.youtube.com/user/ArnoldSmithPLLC/videos

 

 

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