What About LeBron?

Stop making things so personal.

by Drey Wingate / @ProStatus85

I really hope people can see just how out of hand this whole LeBron James is getting.

It would really be great if LeBron could read this himself. After checking out my timeline on Twitter a few days ago, I came across a tweet that Lakers forward Matt Barnes sent to LeBron. Matt told LeBron to embrace the hatred and to remember that the same people talking down about him would trade places with him in a second. You know as well as I do that he’s right.

When the people who used to love you suddenly hate you because of something you did to benefit yourself, chances are they never really cared for you in the first place. Since it seems like nobody wants to look at things from another of view, then I guess I will give my thoughts on the topic. I’m “Technically Speaking,” of course. So LeBron, if you’re reading this, I hope it reaches you in a positive way, homie.

The Decision came and went. It rubbed a lot of people the wrong way, especially the basketball fans of Cleveland. True, it was a little over the top for a free agent to announce what team he was going to sign with. The only time you see anticipation like that is when the top high school player in the country announces where he is attending college in the fall.

What if the whole decision segment never happened? What if LeBron would have went anywhere else other than Miami? Would he still be getting the same hate, scrutiny and negative feedback from the media and the public? Of course not.

Keep in mind that when a player becomes a free agent he has the right to go wherever he damn well pleases. As much as I love the game, I also have to remember that it is indeed a business, and when it comes down to it, you can’t please everybody.

LeBron James did what he felt was the best situation for him. The hype and the publicity disappointed a lot of people, but his job is to perform at a high level as an athlete, not to consult with outsiders about where he should play. We can’t change what happened and how things were done, and LeBron is not the first franchise player to leave his original team with hopes of earning a ring sooner than later. Many well known players did it before him and nobody said anything.

On the real, after all the drama and disappointments, how many people were really expecting LeBron to return as a Cavalier? People kept talking about how he was being disloyal and betraying the people who believed in him. Before 2003 who even believed in Cleveland as a franchise? If seven years of outstanding play isn’t loyalty then I don’t know what is.

During his time there, the Cavs had the best record in the League two seasons in a row, constant sold-out crowds, consecutive Playoff appearances, and most importantly very satisfied fans who hadn’t been that happy since the Mark Price days. I think it was very sad to see people react they way they did after LeBron left. The burning of his jerseys, the custom-made cars with negative sayings, all of the internet spoofs and the “Quietness” tees was just completely over the top. I know in this country we all enjoy our freedom of expression, but it seems like we allow that right to over shadow our common sense.

LeBron James is human and is definitely not perfect in any matter, but let’s look at a few things—Has he ever been arrested? Has he ever been caught up in anything that caused conflict among his team? Is he known for being a dirty player or acting in a disrespectful manner? It’s not right for LeBron to be catching this type of hell just because he decided to play for another team.

I understand that fans have feelings and they don’t want to see their hero leave, but that doesn’t give people, especially the media, to act and say things the way they do. Then of course it is a job for those involved with the media to find bad things about people no matter who they are.

I agree with everyone else about the comments LeBron made after the Finals being inappropriate, but everyone has a limit. How much do you expect for one man to take? There is huge difference between hate and dislike, and it seems to me that people actually hate LeBron James. And for what? Because he changed uniforms? Seriously? If you hate the man that much then stop tuning in when Miami is playing. Stop buying his apparel. Stop paying for tickets to go watch his team play. Stop making him the main topic in every basketball related conversation you have with someone.

I’m not trying to get anybody to change how they may feel about him, but keep in mind that what he does with his career shouldn’t determine how you act as a person. What’s done is done and life goes on. The Dallas Mavericks deserved to win the chip this year, but even after it was over, who was everybody STILL talking about? My point exactly. People are saying that LeBron quit in the last two games of the series. Why would he quit after dealing with a season full of slander and people saying that he, Bosh and Wade would never work?

LeBron went from being the option in Cleveland to being an option in Miami. There is a difference between the two. I give him a lot of credit and respect for not trying to take over every single game. Since when did it become a crime for great players to keep their teammates involved? When you have players like Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Mike Miller on the floor with you, it doesn’t become mandatory for you to shoot as many shots and score as many points. Any of these guys can drop 20+ on any given night. Any one player can produce statistics that will make them an All-Star every year, but it takes a well-balanced team to win a championship. It’s not about who is on the team, but what is within the team. Looking at the assists LeBron has accumulated over the course of his career it’s a no brainer that he is indeed a team-oriented type of player.

Let’s stop making things so personal and get back to the enjoyment of the game. Basketball seems to be turning into a soap opera rather than the world’s most entertaining sport. Leave LeBron James alone and allow him to continue to entertain fans the way he has been since his days back in high school.

You may not like what he did but I’m sure you’re looking forward to another exciting NBA season and more LeBron James highlights.

Add a Comment
x

Invite a Friend
Your name:
Your email:
Friend name:
Friend email:

Invite a friend
Share
RSS

Tags: Feature Too, LeBron James, Miami Heat

Read the SLAMonline Discussion Rules before posting.

http://www.slamonline.com Eboy

This guy get’s it.
Rob Lewis

well said. there is a discrepancy between what we expect from Lebron and what he wants for himself. He’s his own man, let him determine his destiny.
http://www.youtube.com/tripledouble Triple Double

I disagree. A pointless article saying nothing new and overlooking the obvious flaws. A whole lot of “what if’s” and “I’m not saying… BUT…”. What a waste of f***ing time. Eat a d!<k.
http://slamonline.com nbk

This is a good article. I think maybe draft day wasn’t the best day to release it, but I enjoyed it. I’m over LeBron for atleast today though.
robb

good article, but zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
http://www.bulls.com Enigmatic

The LeBron hate can be way over the top at times.
Personally, I was annoyed by his arrogance he displayed last summer, but that’s all.
Hate is a strong word.
I hate child molesters and rapists.
I hate terrorists.
I don’t hate LeBron James.
But the way some people talk about him, you’d swear this was a dude was a damn serial killer or something.
It’s just sports, y’all. There’s a billion people out there much, much worse than LeBron James.
Joey

I agree with this article and there have been countless others about LeBron that dude had to rehash some points we’ve heard.

Anyways, I’d like to compare LeBron to Kobe a little here b/c I hated … I mean disliked Kobe so much. Especially when Kidd made it to back to back finals with Kittles, KMart, and KVH. Shaq and anybody was unfair back then and I wanted his sidekick to be Penny so bad. But his arrogance and selfishness drove me nuts.

We all remember all the shots he jacked up and when he didn’t shoot at all in that last playoff game. We remember when he wanted out of the lakers and maybe jump ship to the Clip show. Lebron stayed SEVEN years in CLEVELAND! Kobe had Shaq…

Now Kobe has 2 max teammates in Pau and Bynum… the only difference is he didn’t do a segment and donate to charity.
Zabba

“Eat a dick?” thanks for proving his point.
http://www.triplejunearthed.com/dacre Dacre

Hey Eboy is back – I wanted to say what a tough series for your Heat boys hey??? Them getting to the finals and falling short is going to make them SO HUNGRY this up coming season!
____
Now about the article: All your points are valid, but there are still the same 2 camps amongst the plebsites around here… the kobe fans and the LeBronners…
____
I would have to put my hand up and say I ‘enjoy’ watching LeBron struggle through his NBA career. But I don’t use that term strongly… he’s not exactly struggling either come to think of it.
Lonestargal

I am a Mavs fan but I would like to comment on this. Outside of Cleveland, people aren’t annoyed that he left but rather the manner which he left. I, myself respected him up until that point. He put himself on a pedestal by creating “the decision”. Then Miami elaborated that by the high profile introduction of the big three. This created such an air of arrogance that from the outside looking in it appeared that Miami thought no team could EVER match their talent (refer to comment- not one championship, not two, etc). So during the finals when the mighty (yet-tbd) had fallen, then everyone was just waiting to ridicule their demise. It didn’t help that the media sensationalized this by giving the impression that Miami (lebron) lost each game and not that Dallas won. They put him of the focal point of why they didn’t win. I can say that it was a little disheartening to hear this replayed on any media outside of Dallas but it helps solidify that they blamed him.

Do I hate Miami-no. Did I get a chuckle out of it?-yes, considering they gave the impression this would be easy and the wade/lebron mockery of dirk being sick.
http://twitter.com/BeezKneezy LA Huey

So here’s the thing, the media made too much out of Miami losing and it marginalized Dallas’ great play. I wish they’d own up to the fact that the Mavs 2012 run did not get the shine it deserved.

This year, it seems like so many fans were looking forward more to the Heat falling short than to their own teams’ success. It’s like they were haters 1st and fans 2nd. And that’s a damn shame…except for Cleveland (they’re exempt).
fizzbucket

Stupid. Do you really think that’s we’re all just salty solely because of the Decision? If the guy didn’t posture and prance around like he’s some sort of deity, pull ugly faces and whine at the refs 24/7, act like an immature little kid, and just generally be an arrogant d-bag, then he wouldn’t be under the same scrutiny. Stop trying to act like the hate he gets is unwarranted. He brought it on himself.
Matt

If you’re going to put something in quotes you better get it correct. It’s “Quitness” Your credibility as an author just went down the drain.
Matt

Also, if 6 had any offensive production in the fourth, the heat would have won. That’s lebron’s own fault. His twitter antics don’t help his cause either. He deserves what’s coming to him.
Joey

First of all Im a long time kobe hater so I really enjoyed the defending champs lakers getting swept by the mavs this year. With that said.. I still believe the Decision is the main reason why EVERYONE is hating on LeBron and the Heat. Kobe whines ALOT, pulls ugly faces, wanted Shaq out b/c he wanted his own team, acted like an immature kid… and he is DAMN arrogant. But people like him b/c he won.. and won often. He came into the perfect situation and got chips right away. The logo gifted Pau Gasol on a platter and they won two more.

LeBron spent 7 years in Cleveland with no help… NONE. Everyone wanted the feel good story to continue so that we could all cheer for him when he won 1 maybe 2 chips with that bs of a team Dan Gilbert put together. We all know in this day and age that one HOF is not enough. If you want a dynasty.. you need at least 2.

LeBron paid his dues and it was evident they couldn’t do it in Cleveland so he took it into his own hands. I think people have a problem with the fact the 3 young black stars took their career into their own hands instead of the owners/GMs dictating what happens.

The Decision was just a big f*ck you to everyone
http://www.facebook.com/joe.l.brewer3 BlackPhantom

Very good article. As a huge Kobe fan, lemme set the record straight. I don’t hate Lebron James at all. Call me crazy but, I just would’ve stayed in Cleveland if I were him. I don’t with the fact he left for another team. I have a problem with the fact that he made such a big deal about and did it on national television.
http://asd xero

@Joey Now stop suckin on LBJ nuts . . it is doomed to fail at the last minute. And stop dragging Kobe to all the stupid LBJ dumb articles.
http://www.hoftorrents.com/torrents.php SparkJ23

Wait – you leave your home-town team with nothing at all just to stoke your own ego, then have a celebration event in liu of a press conference where you state there are 6 or 7 titles on the way and you then dissapear in the NBA finals and mock the guy kicking your ass but it us that are making the mistakes?
http://Slamonline.com Caboose

I can appreciate what the author is trying to say but I wholly disagree. The foundation of the article is that the LeBron hate stemmed solely from the Decision. Unfortunately (for the author), not all of us are that simple minded. Many of us dislike LeBron the same way we’ve come to dislike other players such as Kobe Bryant, or Kevin Garnett: they are simply crass people at times. We’ve all seen the arrogance, the disrespect, the just plain offensive; this is why I dislike LeBron and I hope and think I speak for many. The Decision simply affirmed what many already knew.
Mansonovic

I love that people act like “The Decision” was solely LeBron’s idea. Yeah, cos the media didn’t lap it up at the time…
Sidikie Bility

Lebron James is arguably the best player in the world, but he’s no superman and at day’s end he’s human like all of us. Mistakes are inevitable, but as they say, “what doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger”… I think, what he does next season will determine his true talents. I personally have a good feeling about him next season, but I personally advise him not to make any comments til June 2012 when the finals are over…
Keep your head up Le6ron!
Joey

@zero I am comparing the only 2 players who are legitimately close to MJ. And LeBron is closer go magic BC of his passing skills. I admit, Bron doesn’t have the killer mentality. Maybe it’s because he’s been called the King since he was in HS. Whatever it is I will bring Kobe into any LeBron article to shut all the haters up till MIA win their first chip. B/c someone’s gotta make u realize Kobe is just as big of a jerk, had it way easier, but didn’t announce it on national tv. If Kobe left the lakers and announced it on tv, can you imagine how much hate there would? If ur a Kobe fan. Back ur boy up.
http://slamonline.com Bryan Crawford

Obviously, this is a LeBron James apologist piece, which is fine, there’s nothing wrong with that, but I’d like to point a few things out…
To say that people dislike LBJ “solely” because of The Decision or because he left the Cavs (even if they’re from another part of the country and not even a Cavs fan) is such a false, blanket statement and opens a huge can of worms.
The Decision and the way he left certainly played a part in people’s dislike or in this case, hatred — which can be over the top at times — but to just base it strictly on those events is extremely short-sighted.
You do realize that people didn’t like LeBron and possibly even hated him prior to July 8th, 2010, right?
Look, people have been “hating” professional athletes for DECADES. Hell, people have even hated entire teams for just as long. But now all of a sudden we want to act as if this is some kind of new and weird phenomenon. It’s not. Maybe to those who are younger, but not to those who can remember “simpler” times.
Given the growth of the news media which is due in large part to the explosion and rapid growth of social media and the internet, EVERYONE’s voices and opinions can be heard. Their feelings are no longer isolated or restricted to only those within in earshot.
Look, if the technology we have now was the same in the 80′s and 90′s, the flack that LBJ gets now would be NOTHING compared to the flack that teams like the Celtics, Lakers and Pistons would have gotten. Or the hatred that Isiah, Laimbeer, Rodman, Barkley, Bird and Magic would’ve felt.
And if basketball is indeed becoming a “soap opera” like you said, then blame the actors, which in this is case is the players (and for relevancy’s sake, LeBron since he starred in his own personal soap opera) and not the people who watch the show and then comment on it.
http://www.slamonline.com Eboy

No truth in ANYTHING Bryan just wrote.
bull22

THE FINAL JOURNEY” “THOU SHALL LEAD THIS HEAT ON THIS GLORIOUS JOURNEY,THOU SHALL PREPARE A BISCAYNE FEAST FOR YOU, THOU SHALL BE YOUR KING, COME WITH ME MY OBNOXIOUS MIAMI BRETHREN, TO TAKE THESE FINAL STEPS INTO MY ABODE, WHERE THOU IS THE KING OF THE MIAMI SEWERS”………. HAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA
http://slamonline.com Bryan Crawford

Awww, come on, E. I was thinking about you when I wrote it.
http://www.slamonline.com Eboy

Bull22, you do know that the Bulls you root for were like a di*k pimple to the Heat, right? Bryan, let’s not try to tease anyone else’s balls here. Lebron was beloved by the majority of basketball fans before The Decision. After? It went in a complete 180….most basketball fans now hate/dislike/allow their jealousies to sh*t talk the guy. You may fool a 12 year old like your boy bull22, but let’s not lump intelligent people in your web of bull*hit (pardon the pun). You didn’t despise the guy and to be honest, you had no real voice in the SLAM world until you started writing your jealousy-filled articles this past summer which kind of gave you a presence (by calculation) and you gained followers. Most other writers with little to no foothold did the same thing too. A pack mentality so to speak, cause they weren’t intelligent enough to try and discredit the guy on his game, just over the mishandling of some PR moves.
http://www.slamonline.com Eboy

Or….would you still be hating on the guy and writing 100′s of tweets. articles, etc. downtalking, insulting or just plain trying to emasculate a guy if he would have chose to wore a Bulls uniform last summer? How about if 4 years from now he decides he wants to finish his career in Chicago? You gonna hate him then, at the age of 30, wanting to help your boy win a title (maybe another by that time)?
http://slamonline.com Bryan Crawford

E, that’s complete BS. Especially with regard to me. I didn’t all of a sudden start disliking LeBron after last summer. And to say that I’m jealous?! Please…
Yeah, my feelings about him have made me both popular and despised inside and outside of this forum, but make no mistake, I’ve been consistent in my feelings towards LeBron for a very long time. Only recently have I fell back on my general negativity towards him because I felt it was a waste of time and that I’d ran with it long enough.
http://www.slamonline.com Eboy

Didn’t answer my question. WOULD YOU’VE STILL BEEN ON YOUR PERSONAL “WITCHUNT” if dude decided to play for the Bulls? Answer it honestly.
http://slamonline.com Bryan Crawford

I’ve said all along that if LeBron had come to Chicago I would have to temper my criticism, but that’s because I’m a Bulls fan, FIRST. Plus, I’m on record as saying that I wasn’t huge on him coming to Chicago to begin with, and you know this. Stop fronting…
http://www.slamonline.com Eboy

You just contradicted your entire belief system. For you to have the ability to temper your feelings about a dude, because it would benefit your teams fortunes potentially, you are saying you’d do what other’s you chastised did……rooted for the dude…. because maybe they were fans of his….and not just a team. I knew a bunch of Cavs fans who never smelled the polluted air of Cleveland living in South Florida. Uhmmm….there was only one reason they were Cavs fans. And that dude is playing in Miami now. Dude had a built in fanbase playing in a sh*t city. Now he moves on to a much more marketable place and you don’t think people will “temper” their feelings. You do now dude has the best selling jersey again, right? But you claimed there’s not many Heat fans….so where the fu*k are all those jersey sales coming from? Oh…I know….prior fans who followed the dude. And regardless of the fact that you may not have been high on the prospect of Lebron playing in Chicago, I’d be willing to bet big dollars your team would have been playing in the Finals this season if dude was wearing a Bulls #6. He’s that much of a difference.
http://slamonline.com Bryan Crawford

I said temper my crticisms, not my feelings. There’s a difference.
Him having the No. 1 jersey doesn’t automatically equate to people being Miami Heat fans. You’re smarter than that. If he played in Toronto or Sacramento he’d more than likely still have the top selling jersey, so does that mean there’s a ton of Raptors and Kings fans out there? No, of course not. And I still don’t think there’s that many “real” Heat fans out there.
And if he had come to Chicago, more than likely we would’ve been in the Finals. But given the way he performed against Dallas, we would’ve lost just like you guys did, so it doesn’t matter.
http://www.slamonline.com Eboy

Well, yes, you’re probably right, cause he would have had to have carried Derrick and his 29% percent shooting self. But actually, you missed my point, I don’t think him going to the Heat meant sh*t about his popularity changing. Like you said, if he went to some sh*thole, he’d still be popular, so really, who’s fooling who?
http://slamonline.com Bryan Crawford

The Decision and the fact that he went to Miami to play with two other superstars DID change the way people feel about him and view him, regardless of his jersey sales.
Of course his fans, Stans and apologists are going to ride with him no matter what, but there’s still a growing segment of people out there that rooted for the guy and were turned off by the way last summer went down and subsequently turned on him in the process.
This is not just my opinion…
bull22

@eboy, you guys have some sympathy for eboy, after his little journey ended with LEBRON ending up his rearend for not winning the NBA title this year….. give that little boy a diaper and some wipes…. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
http://www.slamonline.com Eboy

It’s a faulty fact, BC. The funny thing is, dude still has YEARS to make his career into what other’s think it should be. Not 3, not 4, not 5 (you love it), but probably 7-8 years where he’ll be one of the dominant players in the league and will continue to improve. Dude’s make it seem like he’s 36 and on his way out instead of 26 and still on his way up.
bull22

and second i don’t show any favoritism, its been a while but i have exchanged banter with bryan in the past before so iam no ones buddy…. but if you have been reading bryan’s articles, to his credit he was one of few that never jumped on LEBRON JAMES jockstrap….. alot of you LEBRON LOVERS are just mad because he did not win it all…. GET THE FREAK OUT YOU CRYBABYS!
http://slamonline.com Bryan Crawford

Of course LeBron has time on his side, but not that much considering he’s already 8 years into his pro career and by all accounts, his 9th year will either be cut short of missed entirely. So that means we’re looking at year 10, possibly, before he’ll have another shot at his first title. Granted he’ll only be 28-years-old by then, but with the exception of Kobe, all of the other prep-to-pro guys who were stars in the League, their bodies all started to break down around that same age.
The best LeBron can hope for at this point after these series of on and off-court missteps is being universally loved and revered like Magic Johnson who successfully overcame the “Tragic Johnson” period of his life and led the Lakers dominance of the 80′s. And worst case scenario, he’s Wilt Chamberlain all over again.
http://www.slamonline.com Eboy

Well, you discount his first 8 seasons as if he did nothing of significance in that time, but, you know, that would be me considering you hating.
Red Star

Oh poor LeBron! Whatever dude!!
http://slamonline.com Bryan Crawford

I don’t discount the first 8 seasons at all, he accomplished a lot in that time (2 Finals and 2 MVP’s), that can’t be argued. But so what?
I’ve judge him according to the hype and expectations that he himself and everyone else bought into and perpetuated. And based on that, he’s a colossal failure.
Joey

Accomplishing 2 finals and 2 MVP is a colossal failure. Damn. Ur hardto please. On Comparig Bron to other prep to pro athletes, we havent seen anyone built like him. Closest we got to his dominaing 6’8″ 250+ is Shaq. Bron’s lowest GP a sEason was 75 games. He is durable and will mature even more
http://www.slamonline.com Eboy

Uhm…..Darko Milicic is a colossal failure. Keep feeding the bullsh*t machine though…that thing stays hungry.
http://slamonline.com Bryan Crawford

Darko Milicic? Word… That’s the best rebuttal you can come up with?? Whatever…
Cats always want to have it both ways when it comes to LBJ.
On the one hand, it’s fine to perpetuate his greatness to “Man, myth, legend” status, and then when he doesn’t live up to it there’s a myriad of excuses, reasonings and justifications as to why, profound sadness and cries of foul because he gets picked on so much, and millions of shoulders being offered up to catch his tears.
Please…
http://www.slamonline.com Eboy

Same draft class right? Picked before Wade? He has a ring though. Maybe Melo and Bosh should both be shouldering the burden of colossal failure too.
http://slamonline.com Bryan Crawford

Remind me of when those guys enjoyed (and bought into) mythical hype, otherworldly expectations… and were born of a virgin.
http://www.slamonline.com Eboy

I don’t know…..Melo has long been viewed (and up until this season) as the best scorer in the league, bar none. That counts as unified expectations.
http://slamonline.com Bryan Crawford

Not even close.
WalkWithaGhost

totally agree. I can’t stand how people are giving him all this crap. the Heat wouldn’t have been in the Finals if LeBron didn’t take over the Heat-Bulls series.

LeBron’s still the best player in the League.

What About LeBron?

Stop making things so personal.

Invite a Friend

LATEST NEWS & RUMORS