The Browns announced last February that they’ll soon unveil a statue of legendary running back Jim Brown outside First Energy Stadium.
Monday, Brown campaigned for another, much younger Cleveland sports icon to get a statue of his own.
Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James.
"[Cavs Owner Dan] Gilbert is going to give him a statue,” Brown told the Akron Beacon Journal. “He’d better give him a statue. That young man put out so much blood, sweat and tears it’s unbelievable. He gave up his life. He could’ve had a heart attack he was playing so hard. So they’d better give him a statue. That’s the least they could do.
"[He’s] a young man who has taken responsibility on every level — community, family, team, organization, city — and he’s done it with grace. He’s carried himself well. He has bitten the bullet many times, and it’s paid off for him. His legacy is set, and I’m so happy for him.”
There’s going to be a parade on Wednesday in Cleveland after James led the Cavs to the city’s first major sports championship since Brown won one with the Browns in 1964. Brown retired in 1966 and never came back; James left Cleveland for Miami in 2010 but returned in 2014.
The Browns themselves left after the 1995 season but came back in 1999. It’s been a bit of a rough ride, to say the least, but in the spirit of belief and positivity, Browns cornerback Joe Haden wrote an essay for MMQB.com Monday that said he and his teammates are inspired by the Cavs and aiming to win a title themselves.
That wasn’t as good as the sports radio caller in New York who suggested Monday that James give up basketball and come play wide receiver for the Browns.
Brown still holds a consultant role with the Browns, but it’s unlikely he’ll be able to talk James into coming out for the squad. Just two weeks ago, Bills coach Rex Ryan campaigned for James to come play for him. Many years ago, a hotshot young wide receivers coach at Notre Dame named Urban Meyer bristled at the notion that he had no shot at recruiting James, who was then a high school wide receiver.
In 2014, James said he won’t let his own sons play football, in part because he “needed a way out” of poverty and they don’t.
Before Game Three of the 2015 NBA Finals, James bowed to Brown when he noticed Brown sitting courtside. Brown called that a “wonderful feeling” and “one of his favorite sports moments of all time.” Even before James and the Cavs delivered Cleveland’s biggest sports moment in 52 years, James eventually getting the statue Brown said he deserves was a certainty.
