Lebron James…When you hear that name many words pop up in your head. Phenomonal. Great. Unstoppable.Poor sport? Now its obvious to see which word does not fit. I watched/listened to the Magic/Cavaliers series with alot of enthusiasm due to the fact two of the NBAs bright young stars were involved and the fact that the two teams were evenly matched on paper.
After game one I was talking w/ a friend and I brought up the fact that Lebron looked exhausted and that Orlando looked hungry for a title. Then after Cleveland went down 3-1 I knew it was academic. But what I least expected happened after game 6. Orlando easily handled the Cleveland Lebrons, err I mean Cavaliers, and after the game Lebron decided he was going to be a poor sport.
First of all I know firsthand how hard it is to lose a big game, but with that being said I held my head high,shook the oppositions hands and thanked my teammates for giving every last ounce of energy in their bodies to try and win. Lebron walking in the locker room without shaking the hand of the Orlando players,changing clothes, leaving without speaking to the press and then going on record the next day and saying, and I loosely quote, “Im a fierce competitor. You dont go and shake the hand of somebody that beats you up. They just beat us up and im not going to congradulate them.” Hmmm wait a second there Lebron, what were you doing to your opponents for roughly 7 months? Didnt Atlanta shake your hand after you demolished them? Detroit? I have this phrase for Lebron, “Act your age not your shoe size!”
Now you may think this is nitpicking and im not a fan of Lebron but I will say this, I am a fan of Lebron but the way he acted was ridiculous. When Michael Jordan couldnt defeat the Pistons early in his career he shook their hands and kindly said, “I’ll get you next year.” When Larry Bird and Magic Johnson knocked each other out they didnt act disrespectful and refuse to shake hands. Lebron was marketed like crazy and when things didnt go right for him he threw a temper tantrum like my 2 year old cousin and acted inmature. Saying “Im a fierce competitor was disrespectful to his teammates,his opponents,his coaches,his fans and the game he plays! Lebron isnt even a top 20 player of all time and even those guys in the top 20 wouldnt get excused for acting that way so why should Lebron?
To end my rant I will say this, Lebron is a damn good player and should be marketed as a great player but the NBA needs to use this as a wakeup call and realize there are other highly marketable great players (i.e Diwght Howard) and stop being so biased. David Stern is a smart man and for him to let this go on is hurting the game. If ANY other player did what Lebron did I GUARANTEE you theyd be fined and/or suspended a couple games to start next season. But since it was “King” James the NBA will turn their cheek and pretend like it didnt happen. Lebron should have been a man, shook the Magic players hands, appeared at the post game conference and took the L like a true professional would. Follow in the footsteps of guys who lost in big games like John Stockton, Charles Barkley and Reggie Miller. They didnt act inmature about it and neither should you.
Darren
Posted by DABsportstalk 
