Tuesday, September 14th, 2010 at 1:00 pm  |  92 responses

Hatred for LeBron James, Now in Measurable Form

The Q Scores company has crunched the numbers, and yup, nearly everyone hates LeBron now (though not as much as they hate Kobe! So there’s that …) CNBC reports: “Following James’ move from the Cleveland Cavaliers to the Miami Heat, and the way he announced it in the ESPN hour-show dubbed ‘The Decision,’ the general population has changed its opinion of the man nicknamed King. In January 2010, The Q Scores Company took a poll of the general population and found that 24 percent of people thought of James in a positive light, compared to a 22 percent negative opinion. Henry Schafer, executive vice president of the company, told CNBC that the average sports personality has a 15 percent positive score and a 24 percent negative score. ‘LeBron’s positive score at that time was the highest we had ever seen it,’ Schafer said … LeBron’s Q Score today? Schafer says that now only 14 percent of the general population see him as a positive figure, a 41.6 percent drop, while 39 percent view him in a negative light, a 77 percent decline. In fact, LeBron is now the sixth most disliked sports personality, according to The Q Score Company, behind Michael Vick, Tiger Woods, Terrell Owens, Chad Ochocinco and Kobe Bryant.”

  • Add a Comment
  • Share
  • RSS

Tags: , , , , ,

← Older Comments
  • http://theurbangriot.com The Nupe

    I just saw an article by Forbes on the most disliked/ hated athletes and sports figures from July of this year. The order was 1) Vick 2) Al Davis 3) Big Ben 4) Tiger 5) Jerry Jones 6) Mark McGwire 7) TO 8) AI 9) Agent 0. They also published a list in 2009 that included vick, manny ram, A-Rod, TO, Kobe, AI, Isiah, Starbury, Nick Saban and John McEnroe. I just thought the differneces in the list were interesting. Forbes generalized reasons that people hate/dislike athletic figures is because they are either considerd “Phony”, “Selfish”, or “Criminal”. Looking at the list from the Q Scores, each of them seem fit into one thoughs categories.

  • http://brimartin13@gmail.com Brion

    Allen, Do you watch Golf, Tennis, Nascar? I dont. I was just saying the majority of big name athletes that make headlines are black, thats all. Who is supposed to make that list? The 5 white dudes in the NBA ? Im not racist, actually im a huge Lebron fan ( not so much Kobe) And no i didnt study the statistics or anything im just saying who should be on the list? Ryan Leaf? Brett Favre? I dont know Roger Clemons? All the hi profile athletes are black ( that i watch at least. I wasnt trying to start one of your guys little chat room debates. Enjoy your Nascar, sorry if i offended you.

  • JTaylor21

    @Jukai, what do you know about driving, the only thing you’ve driven for the past 20 years is a Hoveround.

  • howdie doodie

    It would be interesting to see how people got to choose who they liked/disliked. For example did they have a list to pick from or did they just write down names from the top of their heads. If they picked from the names then on what basis etc? On the surface this list looks racist so understanding more behind the metho could prove helpful.

  • http://www.bulls.com Enigmatic

    LOL @ “I’m not racist, actually I’m a huge LeBron fan (not so much Kobe)” guess it’s better than “hell, I have black friends!”

  • http://www.bulls.com Enigmatic

    Or the more widely used “some of my best friends are black!”

  • Javy

    I understand why a lot of people hate Kobe, the person. As a player, he should be hated because he never quits!
    On the other hand, Lebron is hated for the things he does outside the court as well: the difference lies on him being the “I-did-enough-in-cleveland” player.
    With Kobe is never enough!!!!

  • MikeC.

    I think we need to make a clear distinction about what constitutes a “sport”. If the game is decided by a final score that does not allow for a tie, then it can be a sport. Goodbye hockey. You must physically exert yourself to the point your clothes get at least damp with sweat. Goodbye golf(golf is hard so I classify it as an intense competition, but not a sport). Fat guys can’t be all-stars. Goodbye baseball (intense competition). If the building fell down while it is being played and nobody cares, it isn’t a sport. Goodbye curling. If the majority of fans are inbred, toothless morons, it isn’t a sport. Goodbye Nascar. If an animal does all the work, it isn’t a sport. Goodbye horseracing. If your equipment is a gun and beer, it isn’t a sport. Goodbye hunting. If you play it with elderly people at your family reunion, not a sport. Goodbye horseshoes and lawn darts. I think we’re left with basketball, football, soccer, rugby and womens beach volleyball. I put pugilist activities like boxing, MMA in a special sporting category based entirely on levels of toughness that I can’t even understand.

  • Bdub

    Loving the never ending battle between Jukai and JTaylor.

  • http://www.triplejunearthed.com/dacre Dacre

    We talk about ‘hate’ for Kobe and/or LeBron as if NO ONE cares for these players, yet each year they get the most votes for allstar weekend, are always in the season MVP voting discussions. This discussion about who is ‘hated’ in the league will always be there. Aussies will know what I mean when I say that your either a FORD or HOLDEN man…. hating the other car company, yet they are the two most popular car types on the Australian roads. It’s always only ever going to be 50/50 in the best of instances.

  • Bdub

    @ Mike C: Rugby can end in a draw unless its a knock out match. I agree never really considered Car racing a sport. Formula 1 relies so heavily on eqiupment and technology

  • The Philosopher

    LONG… LIVE… THE KING!!!

  • http://brimartin13@gmail.com Brion

    Enigmatic, so now im racist cuz im not a kobe fan? you guys kill me

  • http://theurbangriot.com The Nupe

    LeBron will likely have the most difficult time coming off this list. If/when he wins a championship, it will just remind people that he ‘took the easy way out’. Instead of making fans forget what/how he did it, Miami winning becomes more of a reason to dislike LeBron. Vick had a good half and people are ready to forgive him and if Tiger wins he’ll gain favoritism again. All Chad and T.O. have to do is show some humility (which I doubt either will do) and perform and they will be looked at differently. The ‘hate’ for Kobe continues to diminish for his off-court actions and if he leads his team to a 3-peat then the hate will diminish more (but never be forgotten completely). The thing that really makes LeBron different than the others on this list is that the better he plays and the more his team wins, the more attention and hate he’ll draw. That’s a difficult situation when winning a championship is the actual fuel to “hate” you.

  • MikeC.

    @Bdub – thanks for the info.

  • JTaylor21

    @The Nupe, you’re on point, that’s even more reasons why he should embrace and welcome the hate and become the Darth Vader of the NBA and just crush whoever gets in the heat’s way.

  • The Philosopher

    Shout out @Enigmatic, The Soldier.
    Shout out @Jumpman3224.

  • Bdub

    @Mike C: Additionally Rugby League (Popular in Australia, England and NZ) has no draws. Great game actually check this link.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5cXxMmfHVg

  • Young C

    WHO CARES?!

  • The Lord of Nsam (formerly known as Fresh Prince)

    @Brion 323: 90% of the pro athletes are Black? How stupid is that??? Do u include Baseball AND HOCKEY in your list? or 2 u Pro Athletes are only found in NFL and NBA (plus Tiger Woods is a golfer… do u know any other Black Golfer?)
    PapaBearATL 2:44pm said it all. Nothing more 2 add. Racist America (hiddind behind a (half)Black President).

  • http://www.bulls.com Enigmatic

    @Brion – nah, not really. I just thought it was funny the way your worded it.

    @ Philosopher – I appreciate the love, homie, but I had to cringe at your comment. Those who serve in the Navy are called sailors, those who serve in the Air Force are called airmen, those who serve in the Marine Corps (as I did) are called Marines, and those who serve in the Army are called soldiers. Us non-Army cats hate being all lumped in together.

  • http://sportschump.net Chris Humpherys
  • The Philosopher

    @Enigmatic:
    My fullest apologies, my brethren.
    I did not know that.
    I am appreciative to you for telling me that.
    That is very valuable information, right there.
    Shout out @Enigmatic, The Mighty Marine.
    Hope everything is good around your way.

  • http://joeloholic.wordpress.com Joel O’s

    39 percent of the population don’t like Lebron? They’re just Kobe/Bieber *insert generic lazy homophobic insult*.

  • http://www.kb24.com The Seed

    Michael Vick, Tiger Woods, Terrell Owens, Chad Ochocinco and Kobe Bryant are all winners. So these guys open up their arms to add Lebron to the group.
    Micheal Vick will be the Eagles starting QB and lead them to a playoff birth.
    Tiger Woods will eventually become the all time major winner and still be a player off the golf course.
    Terrell Owens will go down as top 5 WR all time, and already is behind Jerry Rice in a lot receiving records.
    Chad Ochocinco will be first VH1 star to marry his love interest Ruby and will become a color analyst on ESPN talking about football.
    Kobe Bryant will win six or more rings and retire beside MJ in everyone’s eyes.
    Lebron book is still being written and I think his career will end on a good note.
    BOOK IT!!!

  • http://www.twitter.com/TheDiesel Anton

    They see me douchin’
    They hatin’

  • http://yahoo.com eboyhater

    eboy get a life you need one.

  • dfortruth

    Oh you fancy ha!
    So, what population did they poll, 24 percent of how many people?
    All this poll show is hate for the top black professional players.

  • Klemperer

    Why you gonna hate Chad Johnson?

  • http://www.youtube.com/user/officerbarbrady where

    I don’t think LeBron is going to win back fans as easily as Mike Vick or Big Ben might. Those two are “hated” because of things completely unrelated to their sport; there was nothing they did that was FOOTBALL RELATED that made people hate them. What LeBron did was entirely related to his sport, and if he does win with the Heat, all the people who hated him for leaving the Cavs will only hate him more. The way he left Cleveland is going to be a recurring subplot as long as he’s in Miami and he is going to be a villain as a result. The PETA member and feminist group demographics don’t intersect all that much with the NFL fan demographic, making it easier for Vick and Big Ben to live down their offenses. The “resents a guy for ditching his city and riding another player’s coattails to a title” demographic intersects very strongly with the NBA fan demographic. It’s going to be a lot harder for LeBron to live down what he did.

  • http://www.youtube.com/user/officerbarbrady where

    And also, seeing Chad Ochocinco — a guy with no criminal record and no history of any offenses beyond talking too much — on that list makes me think allenp might be on to something when he says this survey might overrepresent the mostly white “athletes should be seen and not heard” demographic.

  • http://www.bseentv.com.au lancearvin

    This isn’t the real story for Lebron in Miami, things will change on court. Still this is a Wade team and Lebron will need to learn from that

  • http://www.threadsandkicks.com.au Eduardo

    Even if he wins rings he’ll still be hated, and even though I’m an LBJ fan they’ll be regarded as “Cop Out” rings. Just like Miller and Barkley said 3 rings in Miami are worth 1 if he had stayed in Cleveland as the legacy will be known that he brough tthe championship there. Wade already brought the championship to Miami and the Cleveland squads over the past few years were better than the Heat’s team in 06.

  • don

    i hate Bron now ’cause i feel like he shouldn’t have left the cavs. SO I HATE HIM NOW, but i still bought his ZOOM Soldier IV. Am i his b*tch now?

  • dsleepy

    im not sure how i feel about all these new lebron-hater bandwagoners. i’ve hated lebron since 2005 and i don’t appreciate those who change their minds on a dude so easily. how can you go from hero-worship to villainy in a matter of 2-3 months? the public is so fickle. if you like the guy you like the guy. if you hate him (which i do), you hate him. don’t let espn do like diddy in “Get Him to the Greek” and mindf*** you.

  • http://www.triplejunearthed.com/dacre Dacre

    don: No sir. Nike owns you though. : /

  • http://www.triplejunearthed.com/dacre Dacre

    dsleepy – isn’t the nature of being able to ‘hate’ a player dependant on them having to do something worthy of hating them? (Like when Kobe started that ‘sticking the bottom jaw out thing’…) You can’t realistically just start hating someone for no reason, it’s got to be political at best and there must be ammunition of some sort – that 1 hour special for “The Decision” was IDEAL for the hate mail to start for so many. As far as I go, I’m in the joyous camp of respecting BOTH Kobe and LeBron and wanting Steve Nash to beat them both.

  • dsleepy

    @Dacre: the whole thing about the Decision that had everyone so upset was that lebron showed himself for what he is: an arrogant, ego-centric, giant douche. but if the public had been observing mr. james over the years, they would have already picked up on this. the real reason so many were in the dark as to the nature of this fool is b/c they let espn and david stern do the thinking for them. the powers that be set him up on a pedestal and the public just worshipped him for it. i’m saying i don’t appreciate the swift change of heart now, because i know these same ppl will also be worshipping him again after he gets a few chips as dwade’s sidekick. but as for me, i know that deep down no matter how many rings he may get, he will always be the same arrogant retard.

  • dsleepy

    i’m with you on the nash thing tho. i don’t hate kkobe, but i’d love to see nash get a ring. dude is a class act

  • saveahoe11

    I think all of the people lazily claiming that all Lebron has to do is win and eveything is fine are making quite a simplistic leap of faith. Lebron has turned himself into one of the biggest scumbags in sports. That stink doesn’t just wash off by winning. If anythign Lebron is going to become more despised IF he wins because im sure he will be an ignorant ass about it. Also with Wade’s and Bosh’s injury history is far from guareenteed. All the Lebron apoligists are feeble minded losers!

  • Beethoven21

    Slam I think you guys cut out the part where Kobe’s positive score is pretty high. He is one of the most disliked for sure, but the rest of that poll tells more than what you guys are showing

  • Pingback: SLAM ONLINE | » LeBron James: Race Factor in Post-’Decision’ Backlash

← Older Comments
Advertisement