LeBron James: Blaming the NBA Lockout on Him? Really?
I'd like to submit a new law called "LeBron's Law." This states that if there's something negative to talk about in the NBA, the longer the conversation goes, the higher the likelihood that it will end up being blamed on LeBron James. When he starts taking heat for the lockout, you know things are getting ridiculous.
Today on Rome is Burning, Jim Rome asked guest Howard Bryant of ESPN, "Starting first with the NBA and labor. The NBA stars: Where are the NBA stars in this thing? Why aren't these guys front and center owning it and pushing it?
Bryant then replied,
""Why is baseball the strongest union in sports? The stars are always out in front and pushing it. The stars drive everything. Where is Kobe Bryant? Where is Dwyane Wade? Where is Dwight Howard? And where, especially is LeBron James? LeBron James is the No. 1 marketing star in the game right now. He's the biggest commodity there."
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In the end he surmises that if he's an owner he's thinking, "These guys aren't taking this very seriously, they're clowning around on Twitter making jokes."
Come on! This is getting tired. Does everything have to end up being LeBron's fault?
That's right, the reason that the lockout is still going on is that LeBron tweeted some jokes.
Durant gets celebrated for just loving the game, touring the country and playing for free. Is that taking the strike seriously? James makes four tweets (that, let's be honest, weren't that funny anyway) and the media make it sound like he's singly responsible for holding up the lockout.
Let's be realistic here. If the question is really about players getting in front of it and pushing it, should LeBron be the one to do it?
If there is a player that's a superstar who has the credit to do something and pull everyone together and say something, it's not LeBron James. Tim Duncan has that ground. Kobe Bryant has that ground. Heck, even Dirk Nowitzki or Steve Nash have more ground.
These are the senior statesmen of the NBA. LeBron is not. It's not a knock on him. It's just true.
If LeBron were to even try and take charge of the players in some way, the entire media would ostracize him for that too! They'd be declaring that he's trying to make himself king.
Sometimes it's almost as if they sit around and try to think about what to blame James for because they don't actually have anything to write about or talk about. "What do you want to talk about today Jim?" "Gee, I don't know Howard, what did LeBron do today?"
It's worse than made-up trade rumors!
LeBron tweeted some back and forth jokes with his friend. Is that really news? Is that the reason the lockout is still going on? No. So why even mention it in the conversation? Who needs to be more serious is the media.
