LeBron James
Poor LeBron James. (Speaking figuratively, of course.)
The NBA star receives a lot of swag for being one of the most important athletes in America, and nice guy that he is, James tries to give much of it away to charity. Unfortunately, some auto companies are making it hard for James to help those in need. We're speaking specifically of Kia.
The Korean automaker has given James two cars in the past couple of years -- a Borrego and a Sorento -- commemorating his back-to-back MVP awards. Nice gesture, right?
Only thing is, while James surely appreciates Kia's quality and reliability, he's making due with his other cars for now. You know, those Ferraris are kind of a pain, but someone has to drive them.
And so, James has given the vehicles to charity -- the Akron Urban League and the Summa Foundation, specifically -- in hopes that they can raffle off the rides and raise some much-needed dough. Which would be great, except his contract with Kia states that he can't sign over either car for one full year.
What we have here is a failure to understand PR. Kia could easily amend its contract to allow for the hand-off, generating great publicity for the brand. Instead, the Borrego and the Sorento are probably sitting under a tarp in some garage, waiting for the year to run out. And the charities, of course, are having to do without the five-figure sums that a LeBron James vehicle would easily fetch.
Surely one of you lawyers can take it from here, right?
[ESPN]
