New Heat On LeBron

LeBron's 'Decision' show gets new heat: In the aftermath of the basketball star's TV spectacle, some insiders raise new concerns.

ESPN host criticizes LeBron-a-thon: ESPN’s Thursday-night LeBron-a-thon — aka “The Decision”— scored big ratings and sparked plenty of criticism of the cable network for blurring the line between news and advertising. For days, commentators have chewed on the ethical implications of a sports-news network giving a star athlete an hour for self-promotional purposes. But as the special aired, the real-time Twitter critique focused on ESPN dragging out the inevitable decision for nearly 25 minutes. Viewers were forced to sit through Jim Gray — James' hand-picked interviewer— tossing six minutes of softballs before asking what everyone wanted to hear. Washington Post columnist Mike Wilbon, who interviewed James after Gray, suggests he would have done things differently. “I didn't like it,” Wilbon said Sunday on CNN. “I mean, just as a reporter, I didn't like it. And I was saying to somebody at the time, there's one question here." Wilbon, who co-host’s ESPN’s " Pardon the Interruption," spoke candidly about the hour-long special and said that viewers likely wanted the network to "get to it." Wilbon acknowledged that the criticism is something "the network has to live with." "And that was talked about before," he continued. "And if anybody didn't anticipate that reaction, then that was incredibly naive." One of the lingering questions in the whole affair is what Gray got out of the deal. ESPN says the network didn't pay Gray. But it appears that James' camp and William Morris did. An interviewee paying his interviewer presents a blatant conflict of interest. However, Gray disputes a CNBC report that he received payment and contends that he was only reimbursed some expenses. "I am not receiving a single penny from LeBron or any entity involved with LeBron," Gray said. "I will receive a small stipend to take care of expenses. But I'm not making money off this." ESPN executives have defended airing the special, which James' representatives brought to the network. [Video: LeBron dismissed by Michael Jordan] Today, Advertising Age provides a bit more of the back story as to how “The Decision” got off the ground. One oddly fitting detail: Hollywood super-agent Ari Emanuel — brother of White House chief of staff Rahm, basis for Entourage’s Ari Gold — was involved in the project since the onset of the NBA Finals, prior to James formally entering the free-agent market.