LeBron James is the "face of the new GMC Hummer EV, an electric version" of the vehicle that made its debut Tuesday night during World Series Game 1, but there is a "much stronger bond" between James and Hummer, according to Alex Lauer of INSIDEHOOK. While neither James nor General Motors "have publicly acknowledged it, by endorsing the Hummer EV, James is quietly getting the final word in what was the first major controversy of his career." After James received an H2 for his 18th birthday, the Ohio High School Athletic Association "got involved because of a bylaw that states athletes lose amateur status when 'capitalizing on athletic fame by receiving money or gifts of monetary value.'" But it turned out that James' mother, Gloria, "had taken out a loan to buy the H2 for her son's birthday." That "hasn't stopped LeBron's critics from using the Hummer controversy as one of the many jabs they've trotted out" during James' career (INSIDEHOOK.com, 10/20). YAHOO SPORTS' Dan Wetzel wrote for James to be the "frontman for Hummer trucks, however, is, to anyone who knows his history, a major plot twist, a healthy amount of trolling and, hopefully, a reminder about how far America has come when considering the concept of amateurism" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 10/21).
