That piece of shit LeBron James, and his personal crank sucker both agreed that race was involved in this past summer's reaction to 'The Decision.' While we all know how fucking full of shit that is...Mitch Albom brought it home today...
Read it...it'll be worth your time...
"Van Halen was one of the most hallelujah, tailgate, backyard, BBQ, arrive four hours early to the gig just for the parking lot bands. And still to this day is. It's an attitude. I think it's a spirit more than anything else is."
Here's Part 1:
When LeBron James spoke to CNN this past week, and the criticism of how he handled his free-agency arose, CNN's Soledad O'Brien found it necessary to pose this query: "Do you think there's a role that race plays in this?"
Really? In the thousand things O'Brien could have asked perhaps the world's greatest (and certainly its most exposed) basketball player, she had to ask if race was why he was criticized?
Did she ask the same question when LeBron was drafted No. 1 out of high school? When he was voted MVP? When he was given more endorsement money than 100 other NBA players combined? Did she -- or anyone else -- ask, when all the positives were showering on LeBron's head, "Do you think there's a role that race plays in this? Do people love you because you're African American?"
No. So why ask it now? There was no suggestion of it earlier. Not a peep. Still, no one should be surprised that LeBron's answer was, "I think so at times. It's always, you know, a race factor."
Because sadly, when a high-profile African-American athlete hits an oil skid of controversy, it is all too easy to make race the culprit.
Especially if someone asks.
A lesson in popularity
Why not look at the facts without color? Here. Let's change LeBron's name to Leo for this little exercise. Leo was a wildly popular player before this summer. Leo seemed loyal to his team and his home state, trying to bring it a winner. It's a trait that has made many an athlete popular.
But then Leo went on the free-agent market, got together with two big-name players and hatched a plan to leave Cleveland and mold a superstar roster for the Miami Heat.
He then kept everyone in the dark until he could ensure a worldwide audience for a TV special, called "The Decision." He got advertisers to shell out big dollars that he directed to a charity to make the event seem less of what it was, a one-hour celebration of his legend. Of course, Leo could have given money to the charity himself. But that wouldn't have gotten him an hour on prime-time TV.
And Part 2:
When asked that night what team he had chosen, Leo did not answer, "I've chosen Cleveland," or even, "I'll be proud to play for the Miami Heat." He answered, "I'm gonna take my talents to South Beach" -- suggesting that it was 1) more about his talent than anything and 2) time to get set for a party, because South Beach is not where the Heat plays, but it is open all night.
So after an hour's indulgence for this "revelation" (remember, Michael Jordan came out of retirement with a two-word news release: "I'm back"), fans -- black, white and brown -- looked around and said, "Can you believe Leo's ego?"
Because ego knows no color.
Whether it's Leo or LeBron.
An inconvenient truth
LeBron's popularity dropped steadily after that event. And recently it was announced that he was the sixth-most disliked athlete, according to the latest Q Score. Now, I don't put much stock in polls. But LeBron didn't become internationally famous with only black fans liking him, and he didn't reach this sudden infamy with only white fans bailing out.
In fact, to suggest that white people have some groupthink approach is racist in and of itself. And you see where this goes. The moment you suggest someone is motivated by a prejudice, you can never prove it wrong, and you can always attack the accuser.
So the Rev. Jesse Jackson can claim Dan Gilbert, the Cleveland owner, views LeBron as a "runaway slave" and LeBron's business manager, Maverick Carter, who orchestrated the public relations fiasco, can claim race "definitely played a role" -- and because we are so conditioned to take racist charges seriously, it all distracts from the painfully obvious truth, which is this:
LeBron now has a boundless ego, he has surrounded himself with people who tell him his feet don't touch the ground, and he can't possibly be at fault for anything.
By the way, there was similar vitriol toward Brett Favre after he left Green Bay. Ego. Money. Why didn't CNN ask Favre if it was about race?
There is never a clear way out of this mess. But there is one way to avoid jumping in it. Stop asking the question. If people shamefully want to grab race as a parachute to safety, they'll do it. You don't have to pull the cord.
Good article and very true. Lebron will never be Jordan (and I hated that fucker, Bad Boy Pistons all the way!) because Jordan brought a title to HIS town, he didn't turn tail and join someone else's team for a shot at a ring. Hell, Lebron won't even ever be Kobe, and I hate that prick to.
lebron's an idiot. yes, he made good money for the boys and girls clubs. but for anybody watching that show, it was obvious that throughout the near-hour long tease, this was going to be a HUGE "fuck you" to cleveland fans.
not because he left. hell, he took less money to play with friends and try and win a championship. that's at least as admirable as taking max dollars to stay the big fish in the little pond. so if he announces that he gave it his best in cleveland, but he needs to move on, cleveland fans will probably still be upset, but the rest of us will kind shrug our shoulders.
however, making clevelanders sweat through "the decision" only to find out, NOT YOU, was a dick move. it's a dick move if lebron does it. it's a dick move if yao does it. it's a dick move if gasol does it. it's a dick move if nash does it.
now, if you'll excuse me, it's time for the knuckleboner to take my talents to the shitter...
LeBron puts the "N" in NBA
I've never been a big basketball fan, but have been into it more the last few years because my little guy plays basketball every winter, with the town (organized). We also have a basketball setup in the yard.
Anyway, I've never been a LeBron fan to begin with and after this summer's fiasco lost all respect for him. Now with this revelation I despise him more.
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While the Bad Boys Pistons of the Chuck Daly era were likely the most hated team in the history of the NBA...
I am willing to bet that the Heat, if not the most hated team of all time...will certainly enter the equation by the end of the season.
It's hilarious to me...listening to NBA know-it-alls taking this high and mighty stance on LeBron's move, and how he did it. Those mighty few are fucking idiots. Yes, LeBron had the right to go where he wanted. So did those other tools. How they did it showcases how the NBA is a shit league (well...most pro sports teams are shit to be honest, because these fucking athletes are so fucking disconnected from the people that watch them). Bosh was essentially up Wade's ass from the start. Wade inexcusably used his fucking family...his crazy-ass wife and kids...to hide the fact he was staying...
and LeWhore...
As I've said it for the past several years...these fucks in all sports don't deserve a dime from anyone. I hope the fucking owners all lock the fuckers out...and in turn...have to use minor leaguers in all sports...which inevitably will take money out of their pockets.
If people actually put their fucking money where all this fucking talk is...pro leagues would stop the fucking ridiculous salaries...
Such is life...
LeBron is a degenerate...and shame on me for ever thinking otherwise...
I won't make that mistake again...
I'm with you on 90% of your sentiment. two problems, though:Originally Posted by knuckleboner
a) the defenders of LeBron keep bringing up how he "took less money". Two notes on that one: 1) it didn't get much press, but several days after THE DECISION, LeBron and Bosh forced the Heat to give up the next decade of draft picks in order to work out sign-and-trades with the Cavs and Raps; 2) this boosted their pay, not quite to the max they would've gotten, but, if you figure in state income tax (FL = 0), it comes out to the same after-tax money as he would've made in OH. plus, he saves on % cuts to agents/managers
b) he DIDN'T give his best in Cleveland. the last 3 games of the Boston series were a joke. LeBron quits on the floor and then leaves by using the excuse that he didn't have enough talent around him. That lineup (when Shaq was healthy) went 4-0 against Orlando and the Lakers last year.
David Lee Roth's the greatest motherfucker who ever lived!
— Brian Moore (@brianpmoore666) June 26, 2012
And if Cleveland fans didn't already have a sour taste in their mouths, take a look at this bit of self-serving horseshit. The guy clearly doesn't get it. Instead of simply manning up and admitting he handled the situation in a woefully inept manner, he offers this self pitying crap, as if he is somehow without responsibility for his own actions.
“The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge.”― Stephen Hawking
Holy shit...
You know...this is a crazy fucking world that we live in...a crazy fucking world. I find myself not caring two shits about my team...the Cavs...and rooting for teams that can kick the shit out of the Heat...
Honestly, I don't think the Cavs will ever be relevant again...and may end up moving.
...and this guy...
I wish the video ended with the..."should I just disappear..."
There he is...sitting there as though he were at the press conference again...man...
He could have gotten those fucking guys to come to Cleveland...his home town...his home team...
He doesn't get it. Seriously...I hate that I love hoops...and hate that the guys that play hoops are essentially tall and athletically gifted, moral retards...
Do you know who LeBron should be?
a human fucking being...
And to you Brian Windhorst...who also spurned the city and the team that he loved for the dollar (and we all know you made good fucking money at the PD)...fuck you...
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/trueho...ory?id=5730079
and to the fucking piece of shit radio fucks in Cleveland...here's an original thought...talk about something fucking worthwhile...
like how we get the #1 fucking pick...
what a fuck-stick! he doesn't get it. this piece of shit wants people to feel bad for him?
give me a fuckin' break.
what should you do LeBron? be a fuckin' man and admit that you fucked your hometown.
the thing out of this whole clusterfuck that is just incomprehensible is that this fuckin' dipshit comes from a place where we name our fuckin' sports tragedies: The Shot, The Drive, The Fumble, and this worthless fuckin' cum-stain names the god-damn thing all by himself, "The Decision". if I thought he was smart enough, I'd swear he did that shit on purpose just because he enjoys being an asshole.
this guy deserves to be ass-raped by a fuckin' 600-lb gorilla....with no lube
...and there's...the quote of the day...
Shaq on Delonte West...and the Cavs...
http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/pos...-and-cleveland
Fuck you...Miami Heat...whores...
88 to fucking 80 to the Celts...let's hope that it's all uphill from here...
0-1 never sounded so sweet!!
never thought I'd be rooting for the Celtics. shit, this year, I'm rooting for 29 teams.
I tell you what, I'm starting to not give a shit about major league sports. I just follow MSU, some minor league teams and whatever live sporting events that involve violence or dirt track racing.
I feel the same. I fucking HATE The Lakers. Always root against them no matter what. But if they can beat the Heat, I'll find a way to pull for them. Cause as much as I hate Kobe & the lakers...LeBron & co take the cake.
“Great losses often bring only a numb shock. To truly plunge a victim into misery, you must overwhelm him with many small sufferings.”
Yeah...in one fucking summer...the chosen one has begun all that is wrong in professional sports...
Well deserved...you bitch.
As a life long Piston fan I fuckin hate the Celts but them hanging a big L on the Heat in the 1st game is priceless. Justice would be the Heat struggling so bad that they eventually trade Lebitch to the Clippers so he still isn't the biggest name in the town he plays in and has no hope of a title. THAT would be justice.
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