Tips About Tips: LeBron Not Such a Jerk After All?

So LeBron James might not be such a bad tipper, or such a jerk, after all. About a month ago we linked to this Deadspin post that discussed this Cleveland Scene item that reported that LeBron left a $10 tip on an $800 bill at Cleveland’s XO Steakhouse after eating and drinking there with a group of folks until approximately 4AM.

Last week we came across this letter to the editor by Davey Houston of Lakewood on Page 5 of the June 4-10 issue of Cleveland Scene, in response to the Scene piece about the alleged incident. Houston’s letter reads, in part: "You’re taking LeBron to task for a misunderstanding. Didn’t anyone see the report on Channel 19 that said the b*tchy little crybaby server looked at the bill wrong and was actually left a very generous tip?”

No. No we did not see the report on Channel 19. Nor can we find any evidence of this report on the Channel 19 Action News website, or anywhere else. Has anyone out there seen this report? This is important. A quick Google search of “LeBron bad tipper” reveals a number of published items about this alleged incident, none friendly to The Chosen One. LeBron has taken a lot of heat for this, and -- as much fun as it is for us to believe that anyone richer or more famous than we are must be moral failures with rotting souls -- if Mr. Houston’s letter is accurate, the good name of King James should be restored.

We’re inclined to believe Mr. Houston. Foremost, LeBron is surely savvy enough to know the damaging effect that such an action would have on his image. And we’re sure that he eats out a lot. If he’s such a bad tipper, why haven’t we heard a story like this before? The “black people don’t tip” explanation offered by many in comments on the various posts about this story doesn’t pass the smell test either. Could Mr. Houston be making this up about a Channel 19 story as part of a crusade against “b*tchy crybaby servers” everywhere? Not likely. And maybe someone at Cleveland Scene saw the Channel 19 report, which is why they published Houston’s letter in the first place.

Moreover, a statement by one of LeBron’s representatives to the New York Post's Page Six corroborates Houston’s account. James’ rep said that “[t]here was a misreading of the receipt, and the appropriate tip was provided.” As evidence of the hit that LeBron’s image has taken from this story, this quote was spun in the New York Post item, snarkily titled “Needs Glasses,” to mean that it was LeBron who misread the receipt. This still makes LeBron look like a jerk, because, of course, who could misread a receipt that badly? But the more likely story, consistent with Houston’s letter, is that the server misread the receipt, and James’ rep’s statement meant that “the appropriate tip was provided” in the first place. If this is, in fact, the case, it was a reserved statement by LeBron’s rep, and a classy move not to call out the server in retribution for the damaging non-story.

Under normal circumstances, one letter to the editor referring to a news report that we can’t find much evidence of (yet) wouldn’t be a very big deal. But there wasn’t much behind this story in the first place. It was based on an anonymous tip, yet it proliferated quickly and widely, with damaging effect to LeBron. We have emails and calls in to Channel 19’s sports and news directors, and will follow up if/when we hear from them. In the meantime, please share any info you might have on this in the comments, or via email.

Update 6/9/08, 1:12PM: We just received an email from Ryan Minnaugh of the Channel 19 Sports Department who confirmed that a story about LeBron's XO tip did run on 19 Action News, and was able to forward an excerpt from what he called "the copy from the story that ran on Channel 19 Action News." The excerpt reads as follows: "BUT JUST THIS AFTERNOON, THE RESTAURANT MANAGER RELEASED A STATEMENT. HE'S CALLING THE WHOLE THING A "MISUNDERSTANDING". SAYING, THE WAITER MUST HAVE SEEN THE WRONG TIP AMOUNT ON THE RECEIPT. LEBRON REPORTEDLY SENT AN EVEN BIGGER TIP, TO CLEAR THE WHOLE THING UP."

We realize that this could be a case of XO's management protecting the reputation of a good customer, but we don't think that this explanation is any more credible than the story that's been accepted and spread throughout the internet -- that the image conscious and media-savvy LeBron would be such a jerk by leaving such an insulting tip. We're going to give him the benefit of the doubt here.

Update 6/10/08, 6:55AM: Thanks to commenter Zak who posted a link to this piece from TMZ.com which contains a more complete statement from XO Steakhouse management about the tipping incident:

“For the record, XO would like to clear up a misunderstanding resulting from a story that appeared in the Cleveland Scene on May 7th...Upon completion of his meal, Mr. James paid his bill with a credit card. Our waiter mistakenly read the receipt, inferring that Mr. James had left him only a $10 tip. To clear up the misunderstanding, Mr. James arranged for an appropriate tip to be delivered to the restaurant for the waiter.”

This statement should not have been so hard to find among the dozens of items bashing LeBron on this story (“LeBron sucks at tipping,” “How LeBron Stays Rich: By Stiffing Restaurant Employees on Tips,” “Bad Tipper: LeBron James tips 1.25% on $800 Tab”). Folks have asked how this post proves anything about LeBron’s tipping habits. The point is that it proves that he tips well (or at least not $10 on $800 bad) at least as much as the widely proliferated Scene story proves that he doesn’t. Thanks to Davey Houston of Lakewood, Ryan Minnaugh and Fox 19 Action News, Deadspin, TMZ, and commenter Zak for helping to get the other side of the story out there.