HANDSHAKE DISAGREEMENT

g under pg under p Surfing The far side of THE Sombrero Galaxy Posts: 18,200
edited June 2009 in All Encompassing Trip
lebronsitting1.jpg
There's context to everything . . . even the decidedly unsportsmanlike act of walking off the court at the end of a crushing defeat without shaking your opponent's hand. That, in and of itself, is inexcusable.

But LeBron James, over the past five years, has made hundreds of decisions and utterances that play out in public. It happens a half-dozen times every day of his life, at arenas, and charity events and hospitals, representing the United States or the Cleveland Cavaliers or Nike or any of a dozen different corporate sponsors; he has to say something appropriate or greet someone in an awkward situation or act as the team leader and primary decision maker. And 99.9 percent of the time he does exactly the right thing. If we're keeping count on the behavior scoreboard, its LeBron James Gets It Right 299, LeBron Goofs 1. That's the ledger.


Nice opinion article by Michael Wilbon on the unsportsmanlike conduct of Lebron James after his teams lost to the Magic. Do you believe what he did was right and should ALL sports have a tradition as such in the sport of Hockey?

As tough as it was to take of the Bruins lost in OT to the Canes I still watched and congratulated the Bruins on an extraordinary effort throughtout the past season. I Also gave the props to the Canes for their play during the series they earned it.



Peace
*We CAN bomb the World to pieces, but we CAN'T bomb it into PEACE*...Michael Franti

*MUSIC IS the expression of EMOTION.....and that POLITICS IS merely the DECOY of PERCEPTION*
.....song_Music & Politics....Michael Franti

*The scientists of today think deeply instead of clearly. One must be sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite INSANE*....Nikola Tesla(a man who shaped our world of electricity with his futuristic inventions)


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Comments

  • WobbieWobbie Posts: 30,510
    I miss the days when EVERY FUCKING LITTLE THING wasn't dissected 24/7 by espn and their ilk. Fuck, we're not curing cancer here.

    No offense to you, gup.
    If I had known then what I know now...

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  • jimed14jimed14 Posts: 9,488
    imalive wrote:
    I miss the days when EVERY FUCKING LITTLE THING wasn't dissected 24/7 by espn and their ilk. Fuck, we're not curing cancer here.

    No offense to you, gup.

    yeah ... agree with this ... ESPN needs to fill 3 or 4 channels with 24 hours of programming ... including several "debate" shows which are just glorified pissing matches where someone HAS to play the contrarian to generate buzz.

    Wilbon's right ... the not shaking hands, hey ... people get upset at losing, it happens ... no need to rip him a new one, LeBron gets it right most of the time. There are worse transgressions.

    That said, I'm over saturated with LeBron and a wee bit happy he lost. It's not just ESPN's fault, either ... the whole talcum ritual at the beginning of a game, is a bit over the top, "look at me!!!" ...
    "You're one of the few Red Sox fans I don't mind." - Newch91

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  • normnorm Posts: 31,146
    lebron has no class...not that i expected him to have any....this is the nba after all
  • sludawg13sludawg13 Posts: 63
    This reminds me of the Pistons in '91. The Bulls lost in '89 and '90 to them in the playoffs, and FINALLY, in '91, the Bulls finally beat them. With about 40something seconds left in the game, the Pistons flat out just walked off the court. Now, THAT was poor sportsmanship.

    Lebron was just a baby.......he acted his age. Should he have congratulated the Magic??? Of course!! It's the NBA, you're a professional, act like one!
  • g under pg under p Surfing The far side of THE Sombrero Galaxy Posts: 18,200
    My bad guys I forgot to post the link to the article from The Washington Post. Wilbon writes as a columnist for the Post. This had nothing to do with ESPN.

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 02949.html

    Peace
    *We CAN bomb the World to pieces, but we CAN'T bomb it into PEACE*...Michael Franti

    *MUSIC IS the expression of EMOTION.....and that POLITICS IS merely the DECOY of PERCEPTION*
    .....song_Music & Politics....Michael Franti

    *The scientists of today think deeply instead of clearly. One must be sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite INSANE*....Nikola Tesla(a man who shaped our world of electricity with his futuristic inventions)


  • DeLukinDeLukin Posts: 2,757
    I remember Buddy Ryan used to disgust me when he coached the Eagles & would run off the field w/out shaking the opposing coaches hand (win or lose, if I recall correctly). I think it's the ultimate act of selfishness in sports to not credit your opponent for besting you. Regardless of what LeBron does off the court, that was a classless move. Hopefully, he'll learn from it and use it as a chance to man-up and be a leader next time.
    I smile, but who am I kidding...
  • polaris_xpolaris_x Posts: 13,559
    it's a tradition in hockey to shake hands ... i find it amazing that these hockey players have so much respect for the game that after going to war with another team for 7 games they can still genuinely congratulate the other team and wish them well ...

    there's no such tradition in basketball ... the home team is celebrating, the fans are going nuts, there is camera crews and people everywhere ... i don't see a problem with bolting ...
  • milarsomilarso Posts: 1,280
    norm wrote:
    lebron has no class...not that i expected him to have any....this is the nba after all

    I'm not ready to jump all over him yet. Regardless of how great of a basketball player he is, and that he has been shoved down our throats for the past 5 or 6 years, we have to remember that in the grand scheme of things, he's still just a kid.
    Not shaking hands was childish, and hopefully he will learn from this mistake.
    "The dude abides. I don't know about you, but I take comfort in that. It's good knowin' he's out there. The Dude. Takin' her easy for all us sinners."
  • tybirdtybird Posts: 17,388
    I would still take LeBron over Kobe.
    All the world will be your enemy, Prince with a thousand enemies, and whenever they catch you, they will kill you. But first they must catch you, digger, listener, runner, prince with the swift warning. Be cunning and full of tricks and your people shall never be destroyed.
  • He picked the wrong time to 'goof'. Even if he is just a kid, I think he has to act with a little more class....he's the face of the sport right now.

    I know the NBA doesn't have the same tradition as the NHL (so this isn't fair comparison) but can you see any of hockey's greats (past and present) skipping out on the handshake?
    I can't teach common sense.
  • g under pg under p Surfing The far side of THE Sombrero Galaxy Posts: 18,200
    polaris_x wrote:
    it's a tradition in hockey to shake hands ... i find it amazing that these hockey players have so much respect for the game that after going to war with another team for 7 games they can still genuinely congratulate the other team and wish them well ...

    there's no such tradition in basketball ... the home team is celebrating, the fans are going nuts, there is camera crews and people everywhere ... i don't see a problem with bolting ...

    I played hockey and I know there's no such tradition in basketball. I think there should be though it may bring a bit more respect to the game. It could also take a little luster off these at time premadonas.

    Yes he took off but he should've had the deciency to address the media after the game like he's required to. The media didn't play him and beat him in that series. He now has to make sure this does not happen again, I hope he learns from it.

    Peace
    *We CAN bomb the World to pieces, but we CAN'T bomb it into PEACE*...Michael Franti

    *MUSIC IS the expression of EMOTION.....and that POLITICS IS merely the DECOY of PERCEPTION*
    .....song_Music & Politics....Michael Franti

    *The scientists of today think deeply instead of clearly. One must be sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite INSANE*....Nikola Tesla(a man who shaped our world of electricity with his futuristic inventions)


  • pearljgirl2010pearljgirl2010 Shillington, PA/Tuckerton, NJ Posts: 3,428
    tybird wrote:
    I would still take LeBron over Kobe.

    Me too....you guys are all making good points about this. I think it's being dissected too much, yet I also think he should have stepped up and shook hands. I appreciate that he cares enough about the game to be upset...love Wilbon's article--he's awesome!
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  • CHANGEinWAVESCHANGEinWAVES Posts: 10,169
    I read handshake as MILKSHAKE! :lol: man I'm a fat kid @ heart! :D
    "I'm not present, I'm a drug that makes you dream"
  • pjfan31pjfan31 Posts: 7,335
    Always shake hands.

    One cricket grand final I was in we lost, I played alright, had a couple of catches dropped off my bowling, I scored a few runs, Made some good saves in the field, but ultimately I was the last batsman out, we lost by 13 runs. The match was pretty spiteful with lots of sledging, ( a lot from me, a lot to me)I was pissed that I got out, I shook a few of their hands, I walked off field nearly crying cause I thought I lost it for us. But at the end of it all, I walked into the other teams dressing room and shook all their hands and wished them well.

    You lose respect if you are a sore loser. Just my opinion.
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  • Thorns2010Thorns2010 Posts: 2,201
    I read handshake as MILKSHAKE! :lol: man I'm a fat kid @ heart! :D


    :( :( :( :(

    NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

    Don't be a fat kid!!! Be a happy kid!!!
  • g under pg under p Surfing The far side of THE Sombrero Galaxy Posts: 18,200
    pjfan31 wrote:
    Always shake hands.

    One cricket grand final I was in we lost, I played alright, had a couple of catches dropped off my bowling, I scored a few runs, Made some good saves in the field, but ultimately I was the last batsman out, we lost by 13 runs. The match was pretty spiteful with lots of sledging, ( a lot from me, a lot to me)I was pissed that I got out, I shook a few of their hands, I walked off field nearly crying cause I thought I lost it for us. But at the end of it all, I walked into the other teams dressing room and shook all their hands and wished them well.

    You lose respect if you are a sore loser. Just my opinion.

    I know what you mean. I few years ago I was head coach of our Catholic School softball team and my daughter was a starter as a 4th grader playing amongst 5th and 6th graders. We made to the championship game and gave it everything we had. Our opponents were tough with the best and fastest pitcher we ever faced. We practiced for a week against a 7th grader just to get used to the speed and intimidating factor of this very fast pitcher. By game time we were ready. They were cocky and talkative and left everything up to their pitcher.

    My daughter had a great game at second base 5 fielding plays, no errors and 3 throwing putouts. She also had a hit a stolen base and scored a run. We ended up winning this back and forth game in the final inning 5-4. A memorable and thrilling game, well one of the opposing players refused to come and shake our hands. Well she received boos mostly from our parents and their coach took her aside and gave her the sternest talking then marched her out to the field crying to shake her hands.

    I told her it was ok and I know that it hurts but your teammates need you out here standing as one in defeat and your time for victory will come again. She relaxed and was all smiles after that and I think she understood the importance of the handshake after such a tough defeat. I found out later they were undefeated.

    Peace
    *We CAN bomb the World to pieces, but we CAN'T bomb it into PEACE*...Michael Franti

    *MUSIC IS the expression of EMOTION.....and that POLITICS IS merely the DECOY of PERCEPTION*
    .....song_Music & Politics....Michael Franti

    *The scientists of today think deeply instead of clearly. One must be sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite INSANE*....Nikola Tesla(a man who shaped our world of electricity with his futuristic inventions)


  • DewieCoxDewieCox Posts: 11,430
    I think handshakes are overrated in sports. Does it really mean much when it's basically just a ritual? IMO it should be much more casual in most sports. In more physical sports, where there is maybe a need for some sort of peacemaking I understand it more.

    Lebron's motives weren't cool, he was just gettin the hell outta dodge. That was probably the first time in his entire life where he's been truly embarrassed.
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