The King . . .
As if "The Decision" was not ridiculous enough.
I was reading over ESPN.com a little while ago and came across a piece describing LeBron and his team's feeling that the negative response to LeBron's "Decision" and decision was in part due to race. Then I had to read pieces describing LeBron and his team's sentiments as well-founded. Really?
Here's the thing, I believe that race still plays a large role in our society and that we haven't come as far as a country as some would like to think. All you have to do is watch a Tea Party rally to know that race still permeates important segments of today's society. There are still a lot of racist people out there and to not acknowledge that fact is to bury one's head in the sand. There are middle schools that have class elections mandated on a racial basis and who knows how many people are in jails because of the color of their skin. Ask any black or Latino person in L.A. how much fun it is to drive through certain parts of town (hint: getting pulled over for "fitting the description" = not fun). However just because race still plays a role in how our society functions, does not mean you get to cite it as an excuse in every situation imaginable.
Enter LeBron James.
The race card has been played.
And it's insulting. I didn't realize how insulting it was until I spoke with someone else about it and sorted out my feelings. I merely shrugged it off as another immature emanation from a spoiled person. But, as this friend and I continued speaking, I realized how ridiculous the race card was in this case. And he was even more pissed than I as he works in the basketball world. It came up again at my high school alumni poker fundraiser. I was talking sports with someone across the table and he said, "I can't stand LeBron, and it's not because he's black." To which I responded, "I can't stand Michael Vick and it's because he murdered dogs, not because he's black." Yes, it is insulting to have to give a race disclaimer when describing The King of the Me First Generation's latest stunt or why I still can't stand Michael Vick.
Note: I am not a racist.
How ridiculous does the above note look? And doesn't that make it seem more like I am a racist just for writing that? It's like the guy who commits a foul and then raises his hands to feign innocence. But this is what we have to resort to now when talking LeBron. And it is because of him.
LeBron James refers to himself in the third person like Jimmy on that Seinfeld episode. He quit on his team in the playoffs against Boston. He was miked up on TNT one night and while on the bench during play, got up, and said to his coach, "King James is ready to go in" then proceeded to walk to the table. I'm supposed to like this guy? Then "The Decision." The fact that there is a PR person out there making tons of money for coming up with gems like "I'm going to be taking my talents to South Beach" is truly baffling. LeBron James is not likeable. I'm sorry.
I even prefer Brett Favre to LeBron James (and it's not because Brett Favre is white). Look and see how Brett Favre interacts with former teammates. They still love him. Think that's going to happen with the Cavs players LeBron didn't even have the decency to warn? Favre is a selfish guy and his yearly retirement talk is horribly annoying. But Favre does not alienate us by telling us how great he is. He doesn't hijack ESPN for an hour and make us watch under the guise that it's because it will raise money for charity. Sorry, those kids were nothing more than props. Maybe Favre just has PR people who have some sort of idea about how to conduct one's self and Favre occasionally listens to them. Who knows? But Favre comes off as more likeable both because he can make fun of himself and because he does not routinely tell us what a great leader he is. Favre shows humility occasionally. LeBron should take note. Favre may be hated in Green Bay, but he's not hated across the nation. LeBron was dealt an even better hand than Favre. While the Green Bay front office treated Favre badly, Dan Gilbert turns out to have been legitimately nuts. LeBron blew it. That is not a racist comment.
Finally, let us examine how LeBron has gone about his daily life as a professional basketball player. LeBron has told us that he wants to be the first athlete slash billionaire. He has actively courted other teams while under contract. He engages in elaborate (yes, I'll admit they're often fun) pre-game and in-game antics. LeBron is an entertainer in every sense. He is an athletic phenom and he's not afraid to let us know about it. Now I ask you, would Michael Jordan have ever engaged in such conduct? Magic Johnson? Tim Duncan? Kobe Bryant? Sure, LeBron may be more of a kid at heart, but he clearly does not treat his craft with the same level of commitment as the aforementioned players do. I was alerted to the fact that LeBron was throwing a party the night before his game against OKC. LeBron invited Kevin Durant to the party. Durant politely declined. He doesn't go out the night before a game. In fact, he doesn't go out almost at all during the season. I've been a Kevin Durant fan for a long time. He has yet to give me a reason to waver. If you were a front office exec, who would you rather build around? Would you want to have to cater to LeBron's every need or have the guy who wants to win more than anybody else on the court?
LeBron James has been all about LeBron James and nothing else for a long time now. It isn't all his fault either. He's been told how great he is and catered to by everyone from high school through his first 7 years in the league. But that does not forgive the fact that his behavior is often more than self-serving. He feigns support for his colleagues but has been shown to be in it for himself. Cleveland has every right to be angry with LeBron. The rest of us have every right to call him out on his holier than thou behavior. Not to mention he removed himself from potential G.O.A.T. discussions and entered potential "best player on his team" discussions.
I will root against the Heat. Basketball is the ultimate team sport as our President likes to say and LeBron is one who likes to make it all about himself. Racism still pervades society despite our having President Obama. Racism still exists in the world of sports, especially in European soccer. But that doesn't mean I am not allowed to root against a selfish athlete just because he happens to be black. LeBron has a long way to go before he shows himself to be a mature adult. He has alienated those of us who value teamwork and selflessness. I am not a racist. I hate that I've typed that about a dozen times in this column.
WEEK 6 PICKS
San Diego -8 at St. Louis
Kansas City +4.5 at Houston
Baltimore +2.5 at New England
Tampa Bay +4.5 vs. New Orleans
Atlanta +2.5 at Philadelphia
Detroit +10 at New York Giants
Chicago -6.5 vs. Seattle
Green Bay -3 vs. Miami
Pittsburgh -14 vs. Cleveland
Denver +3.5 vs. New York Jets
Oakland +7 at San Francisco
Minnesota -1.5 vs. Dallas
Indianapolis -3 at Washington
Tennessee -3 at Jacksonville
Last Week: 9-5
Season: 39-33-4
I was reading over ESPN.com a little while ago and came across a piece describing LeBron and his team's feeling that the negative response to LeBron's "Decision" and decision was in part due to race. Then I had to read pieces describing LeBron and his team's sentiments as well-founded. Really?
Here's the thing, I believe that race still plays a large role in our society and that we haven't come as far as a country as some would like to think. All you have to do is watch a Tea Party rally to know that race still permeates important segments of today's society. There are still a lot of racist people out there and to not acknowledge that fact is to bury one's head in the sand. There are middle schools that have class elections mandated on a racial basis and who knows how many people are in jails because of the color of their skin. Ask any black or Latino person in L.A. how much fun it is to drive through certain parts of town (hint: getting pulled over for "fitting the description" = not fun). However just because race still plays a role in how our society functions, does not mean you get to cite it as an excuse in every situation imaginable.
Enter LeBron James.
The race card has been played.
And it's insulting. I didn't realize how insulting it was until I spoke with someone else about it and sorted out my feelings. I merely shrugged it off as another immature emanation from a spoiled person. But, as this friend and I continued speaking, I realized how ridiculous the race card was in this case. And he was even more pissed than I as he works in the basketball world. It came up again at my high school alumni poker fundraiser. I was talking sports with someone across the table and he said, "I can't stand LeBron, and it's not because he's black." To which I responded, "I can't stand Michael Vick and it's because he murdered dogs, not because he's black." Yes, it is insulting to have to give a race disclaimer when describing The King of the Me First Generation's latest stunt or why I still can't stand Michael Vick.
Note: I am not a racist.
How ridiculous does the above note look? And doesn't that make it seem more like I am a racist just for writing that? It's like the guy who commits a foul and then raises his hands to feign innocence. But this is what we have to resort to now when talking LeBron. And it is because of him.
LeBron James refers to himself in the third person like Jimmy on that Seinfeld episode. He quit on his team in the playoffs against Boston. He was miked up on TNT one night and while on the bench during play, got up, and said to his coach, "King James is ready to go in" then proceeded to walk to the table. I'm supposed to like this guy? Then "The Decision." The fact that there is a PR person out there making tons of money for coming up with gems like "I'm going to be taking my talents to South Beach" is truly baffling. LeBron James is not likeable. I'm sorry.
I even prefer Brett Favre to LeBron James (and it's not because Brett Favre is white). Look and see how Brett Favre interacts with former teammates. They still love him. Think that's going to happen with the Cavs players LeBron didn't even have the decency to warn? Favre is a selfish guy and his yearly retirement talk is horribly annoying. But Favre does not alienate us by telling us how great he is. He doesn't hijack ESPN for an hour and make us watch under the guise that it's because it will raise money for charity. Sorry, those kids were nothing more than props. Maybe Favre just has PR people who have some sort of idea about how to conduct one's self and Favre occasionally listens to them. Who knows? But Favre comes off as more likeable both because he can make fun of himself and because he does not routinely tell us what a great leader he is. Favre shows humility occasionally. LeBron should take note. Favre may be hated in Green Bay, but he's not hated across the nation. LeBron was dealt an even better hand than Favre. While the Green Bay front office treated Favre badly, Dan Gilbert turns out to have been legitimately nuts. LeBron blew it. That is not a racist comment.
Finally, let us examine how LeBron has gone about his daily life as a professional basketball player. LeBron has told us that he wants to be the first athlete slash billionaire. He has actively courted other teams while under contract. He engages in elaborate (yes, I'll admit they're often fun) pre-game and in-game antics. LeBron is an entertainer in every sense. He is an athletic phenom and he's not afraid to let us know about it. Now I ask you, would Michael Jordan have ever engaged in such conduct? Magic Johnson? Tim Duncan? Kobe Bryant? Sure, LeBron may be more of a kid at heart, but he clearly does not treat his craft with the same level of commitment as the aforementioned players do. I was alerted to the fact that LeBron was throwing a party the night before his game against OKC. LeBron invited Kevin Durant to the party. Durant politely declined. He doesn't go out the night before a game. In fact, he doesn't go out almost at all during the season. I've been a Kevin Durant fan for a long time. He has yet to give me a reason to waver. If you were a front office exec, who would you rather build around? Would you want to have to cater to LeBron's every need or have the guy who wants to win more than anybody else on the court?
LeBron James has been all about LeBron James and nothing else for a long time now. It isn't all his fault either. He's been told how great he is and catered to by everyone from high school through his first 7 years in the league. But that does not forgive the fact that his behavior is often more than self-serving. He feigns support for his colleagues but has been shown to be in it for himself. Cleveland has every right to be angry with LeBron. The rest of us have every right to call him out on his holier than thou behavior. Not to mention he removed himself from potential G.O.A.T. discussions and entered potential "best player on his team" discussions.
I will root against the Heat. Basketball is the ultimate team sport as our President likes to say and LeBron is one who likes to make it all about himself. Racism still pervades society despite our having President Obama. Racism still exists in the world of sports, especially in European soccer. But that doesn't mean I am not allowed to root against a selfish athlete just because he happens to be black. LeBron has a long way to go before he shows himself to be a mature adult. He has alienated those of us who value teamwork and selflessness. I am not a racist. I hate that I've typed that about a dozen times in this column.
WEEK 6 PICKS
San Diego -8 at St. Louis
Kansas City +4.5 at Houston
Baltimore +2.5 at New England
Tampa Bay +4.5 vs. New Orleans
Atlanta +2.5 at Philadelphia
Detroit +10 at New York Giants
Chicago -6.5 vs. Seattle
Green Bay -3 vs. Miami
Pittsburgh -14 vs. Cleveland
Denver +3.5 vs. New York Jets
Oakland +7 at San Francisco
Minnesota -1.5 vs. Dallas
Indianapolis -3 at Washington
Tennessee -3 at Jacksonville
Last Week: 9-5
Season: 39-33-4
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