Osupa 20 November 2009 Sports One Comment

By Tom Breckenridge, The Cleveland Plain De…

November 20, 2009, 11:40AM

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Cleveland design officials sent Nike Inc. and LeBron James back to the drawing board this morning, saying a proposed 10-story mural of the basketball star crosses the line from civic art into a giant ad for Nike products.

The Cleveland Planning Commission tabled Nike’s request to replace a massive mural of James that hangs from an office building across from Quicken Loans Arena. Nike wants to take down the arms-spread image of James for one showing him bare-chested, his skin a scaly armor.

The commission approved the arms-srpead image two years ago as a civic graphic of a local sports hero. A small Nike swoosh and the words “We are all witnesses” were not considered overt advertising, which would have made the mural a big piece of “off-premise advertising” — in other words, a billboard, which are restricted by size and location in downtown Cleveland.

James’ scaly skin in the proposed mural mimics the padded texture of the new Pro Combat apparel that Nike is selling.

“You’re going over the line to market a Nike product,” commission chairman Tony Coyne said. The commission voted to table the request. Coyne and others also criticized the lack of of a “Cleveland’ or “Cavaliers” presence on the mural.

Coyne said he felt the “combat” reference is also inappropriate, at a time when U.S. soldiers are fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq.

David Sternberg, of Gigantic Media in Solon, presented the proposed mural to the commission. After the vote, Sternberg said he would take the commission’s comments “back to Nike and their creative department and they will take it under consideration.”