LeBron James represents everything that is wrong with sports
While many people, basketball junkies and non-fans alike, were anticipating Thursday night’s “The Decision,” I was busy trying not to throw up and throw my computer across the room, all at the same time.
There were two conversations I had on Thursday that can sum up why I was having those feelings.
First, in what can only be described as a Facebook-status-comment chat, a friend from college who loves the NBA, was trying to convince people that the one-hour show LeBron James and ESPN cooked up for Thursday night was a good thing. It was good for the NBA to draw attention to the league; I can understand that. And it was good because it might lead to more sports reality shows.
And that’s where I nearly lost my lunch.
Personally, I can’t stand reality shows of any kind. It’s very cliche, but my life is real enough. If I’m watching anything on television, it isn’t going to be a show about real life.
But a sports reality show? That’s just too much. And it leads me to a very good question.
Aren’t the games reality enough? Do we need anything “realer” than Super Bowls and Game 7s and buzzer-beaters? Aren’t the cheers of victory and the tears of defeat enough?
Sadly, I’m afraid they’re not. Why else would Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh bring camera crews around with them while they talked to different teams before signing with the Miami Heat? People care more about the name ‘Bosh’ or ‘Wade,’ or the brand of King James, than the fact that those three have only won one NBA title in 21 combined seasons.
As an athlete, no longer are you what you do on the playing surface. No, you are you’re television commercial or you’re sneaker deal or you’re nine-figure endorsement, and in no league is that truer than the NBA.
Which brings me to the reason I wanted to throw my computer, and the second conversation. I was asked last night by a non-sports person, “Why does everyone care so much about LeBron James?”
I opened my mouth to answer and … there was nothing coming out.
Why do people care about the self-proclaimed King?
Let’s take a look at his resume. James has won back-to-back league MVPs. He was the No. 1 overall pick in 2003. He made it to the NBA Finals, once. For his career, he’s averaged 27.8 points, 7.0 rebounds and 7.0 assists per game. Those are good numbers, but he’s not the only player to ever do that.
If I were starting an NBA franchise today from scratch, and I could pick any player in the league, would I take LeBron first? Probably not. I’d take Kobe Bryant, definitely. Maybe Carmelo Anthony. Maybe even Wade.
The hype about James likely started around the time he was getting to high school. If you’ll remember back to his senior year (2002-03), he was every where. Heck, his high school games were broadcast on ESPN. He drove a Hummer, and he drove it into an old woman.
So for a long time, James has had plenty of reason to believe he’s great. There’s all this attention poured on him at a time when most kids are popping pimples and having their voices drop an octave or two. Who wouldn’t buy into that after a while?
So the Me-First athlete had a Me-First show on the four-letter sports network, and for the better part of six hours, it’s all about LeBron James.
But I think something happened that night that the King never considered. I think by doing what he did, James became one of sports biggest villains. As big as Alex Rodriguez, Roger Clemens and Ron Artest.
He couldn’t just tell Cleveland – his hometown team, by the way – he was leaving. He had to go on national television to shaft the Cavaliers. Hopefully he sold any property in Ohio before last night’s show.
Even if you’re not a Cavs fan, even if you’re not a fan of the NBA, you have plenty of reason to not like the King. As we speak, Webster’s is printing a new batch of dictionaries, with LeBron’s face right under the word “narcissist.”
Adrian Wojnarowski, who has been spot-on about James for quite some time, of Yahoo! Sports said it best:
James will take his talent to South Beach and leave his soul in Cleveland. His hometown won’t hate him as much for leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers as for the way he left them. Leaving never would’ve been easy, but he went out of his way to humiliate them. LeBron James can never go home now. He’s the Browns leaving town, The Fumble, The Shot, all rolled into one colossal disappointment.
Now, Clevelanders truly see it for themselves: He was a fan of the Cowboys, the Yankees – never the Browns and Indians. He was a frontrunner, and he just made the most frontrunner move in the history of the NBA.
I’d bet James never gave any of it a second thought.
