NBA: Hypocrisy And Scary Times in 2010

Heat fans: If you saw the title and picture and expected another "Heat-Hate" article, then I'm sorry that you will be disappointed and will see the Heat be defended a lot.

Lakers fans: If you saw the title and picture and expected another "Heat-Hate" article and another written tribute to Kobe Bryant and your boys, then I'm sorry that you will be disappointed and see that I'm talking about some of your guys.

Heat Haters regardless of what teams you root for: If you saw the title and picture and expected another "Heat-Hate" article, then I'm sorry that you will be disappointed to know that I'm putting you guys on blast.

Cleveland fans: If you saw the title and picture and expected another "Heat-Hate" article, then I'm sorry that you live in Cleveland period, and might want to consider being like LeBron James and take your talents down to South Beach. 

The fact is, the scary times and hypocrisy in the NBA doesn't come from James, Dwayne Wade, or Chris Bosh. It doesn't come from the Miami Heat, the Los Angeles Lakers, the Boston Celtics, David Stern, the officials, Maverick Carter, Worldwide Wes, Bill Simmons, nor ESPN.

It comes from you, the fans of all the teams.

Since James made his decision, we've seen nothing but vitriol towards James or between fans. Some of this came from a spoiled SOB owner who was "upset" that his star player left him and decided to write an unprofessional letter that just drags his star's name through the mud.

Of course, I put upset in quotations for the simple fact that I truly don't believe he was upset at about it, that it was all part of a bigger plan for Dan Gilbert, and nothing more than a cover-up for his errors as an owner and a way to prey on the emotions of his fans and deflect the blame off of him towards the player that left in the first place.

Like I stated in a comment to my recent article: it was very calculating, that letter took all of the blame off of Gilbert in most of the country's eyes and played a part in the James backlash. Gilbert knew EXACTLY what he was doing, it was a Machiavellian ploy, something a politician would do, and it worked, it was brilliant and deflected the blame off of him. I doubt someone so smart who is a self-made man like Gilbert would do something so stupid without an ulterior motive.

I find it very funny that it seems like I'm the only one with that assumption, but yes, it did work. Now James, a man who hasn't committed a crime, never bitched or moaned while in Cleveland asking for a trade, and exercised his right to free agency, is more vilified than a man who has been implicated in two possible sexual assaults (Roethlisberger), was arrested for a DUI after killing someone getting behind the wheel years earlier (Leonard Little), killed dogs in a vicious dogfighting ring (Michael Vick), or even cheating by using PED's (any MLB star from 1996-2005.)

One could dismiss it by pointing out that its just sports hate, that everything needs a villain. You could even use the pro wrestling analogies that James and the Heat are the heels of the sports world, and that they're needed to bring about a babyface and put him over (many are looking at the Oklahoma City Thunder, and while their players fit the bill, their owners don't, for what they did to Seattle is even worse than what James did to Cleveland.)

But from what I've seen from fans, its been more disconcerting than that. The fans have been the biggest hypocrites of them all.

Hypocrisy

If this happened on your team, how would you feel? Odds are, like Heat fans, calling everyone else a hater, being super defensive about the team. Do you acknowledge that? Of course not, because that just brings your argument down.

Now what would I do if I was a Cleveland fan? Go to work the next day, remember the memories of when James was there, and wish him the best of luck. Oh wait, now you're going to tell me its easy for me to say something like that, right? Well yes, but not because I'm a Heat fan and I didn't have that happen to me, but because I've seen it happen to my other favorite teams.

I cursed the Chicago Tribune and not Greg Maddox when I saw him leave the Cubs in 1993 to join up with Tom Glavine and John Smoltz in a super rotation that was the best in baseball during the steroid era. Granted I was nine, but my dad at the time was 34, and he felt the same way. 

Your counter: but Maddox didn't announce it on national television. 

My counter: didn't make a difference, his decision was his decision. And by the way, when he did come back in 2004, Cubs fans welcomed him back with open arms.

As a Dolphins fan I saw this happen earlier this year with Jason Taylor. I never got upset with him, I knew that Bill Parcells lowballed him. What he did to me was worse. He only had to wait a couple of weeks and would've gotten a great offer from the 'Phins. But he was impatient and signed with not just any team, but in the words of a young Cole (or was it Dylan?) Sprouce in "Big Daddy", "The godd**n JETS!"

Regardless of where he went, I still support him, and hope that he gets 10 sacks this year (on his way to a Jets 6-10 season, but I digress.)

So I think I'm qualified to say that how Cleveland acted was classless and wrong, and I even said that in an earlier article, which I've since taken down, due to some threatening emails that I received.

SCARY TIMES

Some of those emails were "you suck." I can take that. But others were so graphic that to go into that here would cross the boundaries of good taste and would get me banned from Bleacher Report. All that reaction did was tell me that James made the right decision. Those people, who represented maybe 0.00001% of Clevelanders as a whole told me that the city was a toilet bowl, a cesspool, and that anyone would be crazy to voluntarily play there.

Of course, to actually say that would be wrong. I don't think Cleveland is a toilet bowl, nor cesspool. To base my assumption of a city I've never visited and the people who live there off of a few wackos who thought that the best way to express their anger over "The Decision" was to email the author of a Bleacher Report article death threats just shows that I'm just as closed-minded as those people. 

But at the same time, why are people getting so worked up over this? He could've done worse things.

Some of it is that people just like getting angry at something. Some of it is that Gilbert's letter made it seem okay for them to do it. Some of it is also the fact that two of the most likable sports journalists in the country (Michelle Beadle and Bill Simmons) express sentiments that, while not as hateful or vitriolic, can make it seem okay for people to think like that. (Beadle at one point during an episode of SportsNation actually called James an enemy and said she looked forward to seeing him fail. Stay classy Beadle!)

But in a round about way, the reaction I've been getting, either on message boards, YouTube videos, even Twitter, about Nick Saban of all people, tells me that there's something brewing that's even worse.

See, I loathe Saban. What he did was wrong. While under contract with the Miami Dolphins, he left to take the job at the University of Alabama. This in and of itself wasn't a bad thing. I actually wanted him gone after a 2006 season where he chose the wrong quarterback (Daunte Culpepper over Drew Brees) and made more mistakes drafting players than I expected, but the way he did it was what chafed me. 

After being asked during the season if he would take the job at Alabama, he said authoritatively that he would not be the head coach at the University of Alabama. He even said it in those words.

The season ends, he takes the job. This makes him a liar.

See, James never really lied about anything. Call me naive, but I do think he wanted to stay in Cleveland, and would've, had just a few moves gone differently or were done differently.

Saban realized when Culpepper was going to be out for the year, while Brees was leading the Saints to a division crown, that he made the wrong choice, so he clocked out mentally. I've even seen game film of some of those final Saban games, and he looks about as interested in them as a dad at a bad school play after their child's portion of the play is done for the night.

So on SEC media day, I tweeted a little joke about him after he made his infamous comparison between sports agents and pimps.

Alabama fans got angry, a few even called me words that would be unacceptable even here on Bleacher Report. You want to look at the definition of an overly-defensive fan base, look no further than the University of Alabama's before you look at the Heat's. Saying something bad about Saban is the equivalent of saying "Heil Hitler" in a crowded synagogue on Yom Kippur. This is a true fan base devoid of perspective, and one that I wouldn't want to tick off under any circumstances.

I have no problem saying that because I've heard a lot from them, heard the comments, heard the nasty terrible things they said they would do to non-Alabama fans. Heard the insults against any state other than Alabama, and wouldn't be surprised if hooliganism came to the United States in that form.

I could even see a Heat fan doing it: after hearing everyone go on and on about how someone hates James, someone unhinged could wind up doing something severe. 

I could see a Cavs fan possibly phoning in a bomb threat to Quicken Loans Arena come December 2, followed by a more unhinged Cavs fan maybe try to do something bad. I hope Cleveland has extra security on hand that night, they're going to need it, remember, it only takes one nut.

Don't think this could happen in the States? That hooliganism is a soccer thing? Let me ask you a question: where were you the night of November 19, 2004?

That night will be known as the Malice at the Palace. No need to go through the details, and yes, Ron Artest was wrong for charging the stands, but does he charge the stands if a fan throws a beer at him? 

What about Jermaine O'Neal? All he did was punch a fan who rushed onto the court and tried to attack him. Here's my question, wouldn't you do the same thing if you were O'Neal? I know I would. I never thought he did anything wrong. When someone is running after you, you don't know what he has. He could've had a knife, he could've had a razor blade, you don't know, you gotta protect yourself, which is what JO did.

At least that night the ESPN Shootaround crew called the Detroit fans out for their behavior. Obviously, not everyone in attendance acted out like that, but remember, it only takes one nut, and that scares me.

Then you have Lakers fans criticizing the Heat. Some of it is rational, others straight up hatred. Some certain Lakers fans, who will most likely comment on this piece, actually have the gall to think that Bryant is the second coming of Christ. No, literally. Any attack on Bryant is like an attack on them, even when you point out known facts like how Bryant sulked to try to get out of LA prior to the 2007-2008 season, or that he gave up on his team in the first round in 2006 against the Suns, or that he's half responsible for Phil Jackson losing his job the first time around and Shaquille O'Neal being forced out. They get easily offended when you say that, even when its true.

Then there's Heat fans. Like with all other fanbases, the majority think logically, love the fact that James came, but abhor the dog and pony show known as "The Decision." While we do think the Heat will win it all this season, we don't say that those who disagree with us are haters.

Then you have the other 10 percent, who will probably call me a hater for calling them out on this, but just toss around the word "hater" like its tennis ball, and get upset whenever you "disrespect" or "hate" the Heat. In my "New Rules" slide show, I dedicated a slide to them. I'm honestly ashamed of these fans, since I know most of them are the very bandwagon fans that us Heat fans get the stereotype of being, and are as much of trolls as the Cavs or Lakers fans I've mentioned before. All it takes is one nut out of this bunch and scary things could happen.

Let's face it, we're entering a scary period in sports fandom, where we're starting to treat it too much like a religion, the trolls that talk crap about other teams on their message boards might sadly turn into sports terrorists, killing people just because they don't like the same teams they do and don't agree with them. Its a very macabre and negative way to look at this, but based off of the comments I've seen here on Bleacher Report and on message boards, I honestly think its closer to happening than many people think. When people say that sports is like religion, I doubt they have any idea how close they are to becoming just like them in the fanaticism sense of it.

I would just like to say to sports fans everywhere, regardless of what team you like, chill out, get a grip, don't be so negative on the teams you hate. Try not to get worked up when someone disagrees with you on something. Stop calling fans of other teams names just because they disagree with you, and focus on the more important stuff, like your life.

Heat fans, be happy, we have a great team to cheer on for the next six years. Let's just enjoy the ride.

Lakers fans, be happy, your team is always a contender and should have an entire wing in Springfield dedicated to them. Bryant isn't the second coming, but he is a first ballot Hall of Famer, and for now the second best guard in NBA history (Jordan is No. 1).

Cavs fans, I'm sorry, I really am. Want to win? Get rid of your owner before he takes the team away from you, which I see him doing.

Alabama fans, honestly, show some damn class. You got your coach, you got your National Title, and will probably have another one this year. Just be happy and don't get too bent out of shape when someone calls out your coach for what he is. I know I'm going to hear a lot of anti-James stuff, but that doesn't bother me the way the anti-Saban talk bothers you. It was the death threats I received that bothered me.

And sports fans everywhere: stop sending death threats to other fans, sports writers who say anything bad about your team, and just relax and take a chill pill. After all, its just sports, which in the end is entertainment.