LeBron James, manager: Race a factor

Jason P

I would argue that stupidity was the primary factor.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=5633199

But if I was LeBron's manager and gave him some of the worst advice possible and diminished his brand name and future earnings, I too would have worked hard to convince James that this was about the color of his skin and not the insanely stupid decision to break up with Cleveland on live television.

Ledbetterman10

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSC8AfkIPzk

81

here we go again. i wish this wes guy would go away. he reminds me of todd strodger.

norm

race has nothing to do with being an asshole lebron

Cliffy6745

81 wrote:

here we go again. i wish this wes guy would go away. he reminds me of todd strodger.

It wasn't Wes, it was Maverick Cater who is a much bigger idiot that Wes.

81

Cliffy6745 wrote:

81 wrote:

here we go again. i wish this wes guy would go away. he reminds me of todd strodger.

It wasn't Wes, it was Maverick Cater who is a much bigger idiot that Wes.

they are both idiots.

Cliffy6745

81 wrote:

Cliffy6745 wrote:

81 wrote:

here we go again. i wish this wes guy would go away. he reminds me of todd strodger.

It wasn't Wes, it was Maverick Cater who is a much bigger idiot that Wes.

they are both idiots.

True

dcfaithful

Lebron,
Shut the FUCK up and play basketball.

Either that, or just go get your own reality TV show and have a career change. You're not too far off.

What a tool.

dcfaithful

Also, to point out how continuously childish Lebron acts/portrays himself...I found it extremely stupid for LeBron to say: "Oh by the way, everyone who has been taking shots at me this summer, I have been keeping track of who you are and I won't forget."

Be a man.

BinauralJam

Wait a minute Lebron's Black? i thought he was french.

Jason P

dcfaithful wrote:

Also, to point out how continuously childish Lebron acts/portrays himself...I found it extremely stupid for LeBron to say: "Oh by the way, everyone who has been taking shots at me this summer, I have been keeping track of who you are and I won't forget."

Be a man.

Just don't be 40 and a man at the same time . . . because then you become a dick.

RW81233

Seriously what did LeBron do wrong? He took less money to play for a better team, isn't that what we hope for athletes to do? Is it because he didn't understand his place in the chain of command and basically did what no GM for the Cavs could have done and circumvented the system for his own personal gain? As for using the things people say as motivation isn't that what made MJ, MJ? With him we celebrated his competitive spirt for Lebron we call it childish. Outside of being a jerk and doing the "decision" on television which many of us watched or paid attention to, I don't get the bron hate. I personally can't wait for him, d-wade, bosh, and company to smash the rest of the league. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZr2qOXQJ4w

81

Jason P wrote:

Just don't be 40 and a man at the same time . . . because then you become a dick.

classic awesome

good read on that whole rant

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=3341578

Yellow Ledbelly

I Drew Brees were to ever have a TV special to announce his decision on free agency i would think he was a dickhead too. No, I'm not a Saints fan.
Dicks come in all colors
People dislike dicks of all colors
Then again, some folks like dicks of all colors too

g under p

At this point the best thing for LJ to do is win championships that's about the only thing that will shut up his so called critics.

Peace

RW81233

As if the first one wasn't amazing http://www.youtube.com/watch?annotation ... feature=iv

dcfaithful

RW81233 wrote:

Seriously what did LeBron do wrong? He took less money to play for a better team, isn't that what we hope for athletes to do? Is it because he didn't understand his place in the chain of command and basically did what no GM for the Cavs could have done and circumvented the system for his own personal gain? As for using the things people say as motivation isn't that what made MJ, MJ? With him we celebrated his competitive spirt for Lebron we call it childish. Outside of being a jerk and doing the "decision" on television which many of us watched or paid attention to, I don't get the bron hate. I personally can't wait for him, d-wade, bosh, and company to smash the rest of the league. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZr2qOXQJ4w

I don't necessarily care that he took less money to play for a better team, and I'm not from Cleveland...so my feelings weren't hurt about that either. I also can get on board with him using all the things said about him as motivation...but was it really necessary for him to publicly declare it in such a way?

I have to admit that I didn't expect LeBron to give in and believe, or endorse the whole "race issue" bullshit.

If LeBron was white, and that was the only thing different about him I have no doubt the same amount of hype would've been created. To claim this has anything to do with his race, or skin color is absolutely pathetic.

I just can't dig on someone who will promote such stupidity.

RW81233

In my opinion the real jerk in this whole deal is the scorned owner for Cleveland he made his money through the very thing that put our country in the economic trouble we are in - crappy loans for people who shouldn't have qualified. I guess you reason for not liking Lebron is fair, but I personally enjoyed him f-ing Gilbert over, and using the media's own stupidity for "the decision" was pretty sweet too. It was a genius move for the NBA because people either love or hate the Heat, and, either way, they are going to watch.

*Edit the public declaration was a response to a reporter's question I think. I'm pretty sure it wasn't something out of the blue.

markymark550

dcfaithful wrote:

RW81233 wrote:

Seriously what did LeBron do wrong? He took less money to play for a better team, isn't that what we hope for athletes to do? Is it because he didn't understand his place in the chain of command and basically did what no GM for the Cavs could have done and circumvented the system for his own personal gain? As for using the things people say as motivation isn't that what made MJ, MJ? With him we celebrated his competitive spirt for Lebron we call it childish. Outside of being a jerk and doing the "decision" on television which many of us watched or paid attention to, I don't get the bron hate. I personally can't wait for him, d-wade, bosh, and company to smash the rest of the league. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZr2qOXQJ4w

I don't necessarily care that he took less money to play for a better team, and I'm not from Cleveland...so my feelings weren't hurt about that either. I also can get on board with him using all the things said about him as motivation...but was it really necessary for him to publicly declare it in such a way?

I have to admit that I didn't expect LeBron to give in and believe, or endorse the whole "race issue" bullshit.

If LeBron was white, and that was the only thing different about him I have no doubt the same amount of hype would've been created. To claim this has anything to do with his race, or skin color is absolutely pathetic.

I just can't dig on someone who will promote such stupidity.

Exactly....it's not that LeBron left Cleveland, it's how he left Cleveland. And then for him to think that the way he handled his business caused lots of backlash because he's black is just completely idiotic. I guess it's a good thing he didn't go to college because I bet his transcript would have more coverups than a teenage girl's face who has to use ProActive....would hate for some school to have been penalized because he's a moron....unless it was Duke....;)

I'm just waiting for the Miami Heat to rename their franchise "ESPN: The Franchise". It's already insane how much coverage ESPN has given Miami/LeBron, but once the season starts it's going to be downright unbearable...

dcfaithful

markymark550 wrote:

dcfaithful wrote:

RW81233 wrote:

Seriously what did LeBron do wrong? He took less money to play for a better team, isn't that what we hope for athletes to do? Is it because he didn't understand his place in the chain of command and basically did what no GM for the Cavs could have done and circumvented the system for his own personal gain? As for using the things people say as motivation isn't that what made MJ, MJ? With him we celebrated his competitive spirt for Lebron we call it childish. Outside of being a jerk and doing the "decision" on television which many of us watched or paid attention to, I don't get the bron hate. I personally can't wait for him, d-wade, bosh, and company to smash the rest of the league. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZr2qOXQJ4w

I don't necessarily care that he took less money to play for a better team, and I'm not from Cleveland...so my feelings weren't hurt about that either. I also can get on board with him using all the things said about him as motivation...but was it really necessary for him to publicly declare it in such a way?

I have to admit that I didn't expect LeBron to give in and believe, or endorse the whole "race issue" bullshit.

If LeBron was white, and that was the only thing different about him I have no doubt the same amount of hype would've been created. To claim this has anything to do with his race, or skin color is absolutely pathetic.

I just can't dig on someone who will promote such stupidity.

Exactly....it's not that LeBron left Cleveland, it's how he left Cleveland. And then for him to think that the way he handled his business caused lots of backlash because he's black is just completely idiotic. I guess it's a good thing he didn't go to college because I bet his transcript would have more coverups than a teenage girl's face who has to use ProActive....

I'm just waiting for the Miami Heat to rename their franchise ESPN: The Franchise. It's already insane how much coverage ESPN has given Miami/LeBron, but once the season starts it's going to be downright unbearable...

It certainly doesn't help that jackasses that call NBA games for ESPN i.e. Jeff Van Gundy make really foot-in-mouth predictions about Miami.

Indifference71

I can't wait for 10 years from now when Lebron realizes how immature and stupid he was as a younger player and the way he exhibited no class at all when he announced he was leaving Cleveland. Sure, he might win some championships in Miami (which by the way is one of the worst sports towns out there), but his name should NEVER be mentioned amongst the all time-greats like Jordan, Bird, Magic, Russel, etc....

dcfaithful

Indifference71 wrote:

I can't wait for 10 years from now when Lebron realizes how immature and stupid he was as a younger player and the way he exhibited no class at all when he announced he was leaving Cleveland. Sure, he might win some championships in Miami (which by the way is one of the worst sports towns out there), but his name should NEVER be mentioned amongst the all time-greats like Jordan, Bird, Magic, Russel, etc....

I agree. As talented as he may be, it's hard to care about that when he comes off as such a douche.

Kevin Durant, now there's a player I respect....at least for now.

Indifference71

dcfaithful wrote:

Indifference71 wrote:

I can't wait for 10 years from now when Lebron realizes how immature and stupid he was as a younger player and the way he exhibited no class at all when he announced he was leaving Cleveland. Sure, he might win some championships in Miami (which by the way is one of the worst sports towns out there), but his name should NEVER be mentioned amongst the all time-greats like Jordan, Bird, Magic, Russel, etc....

I agree. As talented as he may be, it's hard to care about that when he comes off as such a douche.

Kevin Durant, now there's a player I respect....at least for now.

Durant is the class of the league. I can't believe he's only 22. He straight up dominated the world championships this summer. He's pretty much un-guardable.

dcfaithful

Indifference71 wrote:

dcfaithful wrote:

Indifference71 wrote:

I can't wait for 10 years from now when Lebron realizes how immature and stupid he was as a younger player and the way he exhibited no class at all when he announced he was leaving Cleveland. Sure, he might win some championships in Miami (which by the way is one of the worst sports towns out there), but his name should NEVER be mentioned amongst the all time-greats like Jordan, Bird, Magic, Russel, etc....

I agree. As talented as he may be, it's hard to care about that when he comes off as such a douche.

Kevin Durant, now there's a player I respect....at least for now.

Durant is the class of the league. I can't believe he's only 22. He straight up dominated the world championships this summer. He's pretty much un-guardable.

Yeah, he's quickly becoming one of my most admired players of the league. Love to watch that guy play, and he's humble. Which is becoming a rarity in the NBA.

RW81233

Indifference71 wrote:

I can't wait for 10 years from now when Lebron realizes how immature and stupid he was as a younger player and the way he exhibited no class at all when he announced he was leaving Cleveland. Sure, he might win some championships in Miami (which by the way is one of the worst sports towns out there), but his name should NEVER be mentioned amongst the all time-greats like Jordan, Bird, Magic, Russel, etc....

Last night was just a taste...Indifference does John Elway not belong amongst the All-Time Greats b/c he did something similar to the Colts or should we not consider Eli Manning (not arguing that he's an all-time great) a good QB because he won a Super Bowl for the Giants after all but forcing the Chargers to trade him?

If you think about it what LeBron did was less bad than what the aforementioned did. LeBron was a FREE AGENT and the rules are that there are no rules when you are a free agent he took less money to play with friends and smoke other teams. They won last night with Wade out. If Bosh goes out they are basically Cleveland of South Beach, and together they will break people. Conversely, the draft is set in place so that the bottom teams can get back to the top through a system where they get to pick the newcomers in the league. I'm pretty sure 27 years on Elway doesn't look back and think of himself as immature, stupid, and classless, and with a ring (albeit a very lucky one) on his finger I'm sure that Eli feels the same. Of course both of these players were white, but race has nothing to do with the hate toward LeBron.

Indifference71

RW81233 wrote:

Indifference71 wrote:

I can't wait for 10 years from now when Lebron realizes how immature and stupid he was as a younger player and the way he exhibited no class at all when he announced he was leaving Cleveland. Sure, he might win some championships in Miami (which by the way is one of the worst sports towns out there), but his name should NEVER be mentioned amongst the all time-greats like Jordan, Bird, Magic, Russel, etc....

Last night was just a taste...Indifference does John Elway not belong amongst the All-Time Greats b/c he did something similar to the Colts or should we not consider Eli Manning (not arguing that he's an all-time great) a good QB because he won a Super Bowl for the Giants after all but forcing the Chargers to trade him?

If you think about it what LeBron did was less bad than what the aforementioned did. LeBron was a FREE AGENT and the rules are that there are no rules when you are a free agent he took less money to play with friends and smoke other teams. They won last night with Wade out. If Bosh goes out they are basically Cleveland of South Beach, and together they will break people. Conversely, the draft is set in place so that the bottom teams can get back to the top through a system where they get to pick the newcomers in the league. I'm pretty sure 27 years on Elway doesn't look back and think of himself as immature, stupid, and classless, and with a ring (albeit a very lucky one) on his finger I'm sure that Eli feels the same. Of course both of these players were white, but race has nothing to do with the hate toward LeBron.

What Lebron did is completely different than what Elway and Eli Manning did. What Elway and Eli did is a whole different story. The only thing I was saying is Lebron showed absolutely no class in the way he went about it. Obviously it was his right to leave as a free agent. That's fine. But to stick it in the faces of all the people in his hometown with his "decision" was a complete fucking joke.

dcfaithful

Indifference71 wrote:

But to stick it in the faces of all the people in his hometown with his "decision" was a complete fucking joke.

Really the bottom-line here.

It was definitely his right as a free agen to leave...and he did, that's cool. But he left the scene with a huge "douchebag" sign on his back...which was in no way necessary.

RW81233

Indifference71 wrote:

RW81233 wrote:

Indifference71 wrote:

I can't wait for 10 years from now when Lebron realizes how immature and stupid he was as a younger player and the way he exhibited no class at all when he announced he was leaving Cleveland. Sure, he might win some championships in Miami (which by the way is one of the worst sports towns out there), but his name should NEVER be mentioned amongst the all time-greats like Jordan, Bird, Magic, Russel, etc....

Last night was just a taste...Indifference does John Elway not belong amongst the All-Time Greats b/c he did something similar to the Colts or should we not consider Eli Manning (not arguing that he's an all-time great) a good QB because he won a Super Bowl for the Giants after all but forcing the Chargers to trade him?

If you think about it what LeBron did was less bad than what the aforementioned did. LeBron was a FREE AGENT and the rules are that there are no rules when you are a free agent he took less money to play with friends and smoke other teams. They won last night with Wade out. If Bosh goes out they are basically Cleveland of South Beach, and together they will break people. Conversely, the draft is set in place so that the bottom teams can get back to the top through a system where they get to pick the newcomers in the league. I'm pretty sure 27 years on Elway doesn't look back and think of himself as immature, stupid, and classless, and with a ring (albeit a very lucky one) on his finger I'm sure that Eli feels the same. Of course both of these players were white, but race has nothing to do with the hate toward LeBron.

What Lebron did is completely different than what Elway and Eli Manning did. What Elway and Eli did is a whole different story. The only thing I was saying is Lebron showed absolutely no class in the way he went about it. Obviously it was his right to leave as a free agent. That's fine. But to stick it in the faces of all the people in his hometown with his "decision" was a complete fucking joke.

I didn't see Elway or Manning donate a couple million dollars to the Boys and Girls Clubs when they dicked over Baltimore and San Diego for better franchises. Different situations yes, but they bent the rules of the draft to f-over the franchises they were drafted by. Eli's daddy made sure that his baby wouldn't get hurt by SD's bad organization, and put him in New York so he be in the NYC limelight and could make more money from sponsorships. On top of that why is there no hate for A'mare? Didn't he leave a good situation in PHX just to take more loot in NY for a far crappier team, but in a better market for sponsorship deals etc.? So basically what you're saying is that it's ok to be a douche for money just don't market it, advertise it, and put butts in front of television sets all around the country when you decide to be a douche?

Edit: And Lebron took LESS money and did it to win titles.

Indifference71

RW81233 wrote:

Indifference71 wrote:

RW81233 wrote:

What Lebron did is completely different than what Elway and Eli Manning did. What Elway and Eli did is a whole different story. The only thing I was saying is Lebron showed absolutely no class in the way he went about it. Obviously it was his right to leave as a free agent. That's fine. But to stick it in the faces of all the people in his hometown with his "decision" was a complete fucking joke.

I didn't see Elway or Manning donate a couple million dollars to the Boys and Girls Clubs when they dicked over Baltimore and San Diego for better franchises. Different situations yes, but they bent the rules of the draft to f-over the franchises they were drafted by. Eli's daddy made sure that his baby wouldn't get hurt by SD's bad organization, and put him in New York so he be in the NYC limelight and could make more money from sponsorships. On top of that why is there no hate for A'mare? Didn't he leave a good situation in PHX just to take more loot in NY for a far crappier team, but in a better market for sponsorship deals etc.? So basically what you're saying is that it's ok to be a douche for money just don't market it, advertise it, and put butts in front of television sets all around the country when you decide to be a douche?

Edit: And Lebron took LESS money and did it to win titles.

Dude, what Elway and Manning did is completely different. Not sure why you keep bringing that up.

Like I said earlier, the only issue I had and pretty much the rest of the world had is the way Lebron went about doing it. To rub it in the faces of his hometown fans like with "the decision" was a pretty low. Athletes leave cities all the time for the money like A'mare did. Lebron's situation wasn't your typical free agency situation. And don't bring up that he took less money. This guy has more money than he knows what to do with, so let's not commend him for that.

Ledbetterman10

Even Charles Barkley thinks that race wasn't a factor in the Lebron backlash:

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1KCi1OXSJA
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VV4nuJRGoVI

RW81233

I understand that they were drafted and he's a free agent who is from the Cleveland "area", but, in principle, what is so completely different between Lebron, Elway, and Eli?

(Wiki blurb not the best but it'll do)
Elway
In the 1983 NFL Draft, Elway was selected as the first overall pick by the Baltimore Colts. Elway had, by then, played two summers of minor league baseball for the New York Yankees organization. Additionally, Elway had publicly stated that he refused to join the Colts organization, feeling the team could not allow him to be successful. If they did not trade him he said he was going to play baseball. Eventually, Colts owner Robert Irsay gave in. The Colts traded him to the Denver Broncos for QB Mark Herrmann, rights to OL Chris Hinton and a first-round pick (OG Ron Solt) in the 1984 NFL Draft on May 2, 1983

(Wiki)
Eli
The San Diego Chargers originally held the rights to the overall first pick in the 2004 NFL Draft. With Manning being the most highly coveted player in the draft, it appeared that the Chargers' intentions were to draft Manning first overall. However, Manning (echoed by his father Archie) stated publicly that he would refuse to play for the Chargers if drafted by them. The Chargers selected him with the first pick overall nonetheless as the team had a deal in place with the New York Giants where the Giants would draft and then trade Philip Rivers and draft picks (used to pick Shawne Merriman and Nate Kaeding) to the Chargers for Manning. It is not entirely clear why Manning did not wish to play for the Chargers.

(Should be a Wiki)
LeBron
Played for a shitty team for 6 years, under shitty management, and shitty ownership. During those 6 shitty years he won 2 MVP's, took them to the NBA Finals once, and Eastern Conference Championship two other times. He did his time for Cleveland, which is more than you can say for Elway and Eli who used their leverage to get out before even starting to play in a crappy situation.

Seriously what's worse? I think your franchise sucks so trade me or I'll go play with another ball until you do, I think your franchise sucks so trade me or I won't sign with you, or I KNOW your franchise sucks because I just spent 6 years carrying your shitty team but I'm not gonna complain to the media, I'm not gonna be a bad teammate (until I caught my gun toting friend sleeping with my mom and hurt my elbow popping him in the chest), I'm gonna win you a ton of games and make you a ton of money, then I'm gonna donate the money from my free agency decision to Boy's and Girl's Clubs when I finally decide to leave your sorry franchise. Oh yeah, and when I do you are all going to burn my jersey's and write whiney letters to me on my way out.

Is he a perfect citizen no, was his donation to the BGClub totally selfless no (but is what the NFL's doing with Breast Cancer Awareness month selfless either?), but it is it any less mature than what Elway and Eli did hell no. Man did his time, he didn't quit when he was under contract, and he didn't beg out even when he was the only thing that was worth watching on that team.