Last Friday, ESPN released excerpts of an interview with LeBron James to promote Sunday's 'Outside the Lines'.  The MVP said he has never given any indication that he is leaving and is comfortable in Cleveland, and it was widely reported that these comments were made during an interview the night before.

A wave of media and Web chatter ensued.  This was a newfound revelation, a hot-off-the-press statement of LeBron?s intent to remain with the Cavaliers for the remainder of his career.  The problem?  The interview with LeBron was actually recorded over a month earlier.  

More recently, during an event celebrating LeBron?s MVP last week at his Akron high school, a Cleveland reporter asked LeBron if he was more likely to stay or go if he wins a championship with the Cavs.  And LeBron?s roundabout answer seemed to indicate that he is not yet committed to Cleveland for the long term or, at the very least, is still evasive about the subject.  

Sidestepping the central issue altogether, LeBron spoke instead about his mission to become a better man and talked about life as a long journey.  

Dave D?Alessandro of the Star-Ledger said these ?sounded like his only rehearsed remarks of the afternoon.?  

You could hardly blame ESPN, or anybody, for wanting to create an air of inevitability that LeBron will stay put.  It isn't fair to Cleveland for their superstar's 2010 plans to be a subtext of their championship run, but there have been more indications by LeBron that leaving is a possibility than otherwise.

For the sake of context and fairness to their audience, ESPN should have given viewers a brief disclaimer that the interview was more than a month old.  The network might also have pointed out that LeBron did not exactly give a clear picture of his future when he was asked a direct question just a few days before the Sunday air date.