Watching the Eastern Conference Finals, or any game played by Lebron James, I notice one thing. It is not his scoring efficiency, size, athleticism and the way he so easily dominates the game. It is counter-intuitive to see him so well spoken in front of reporters, yet behave so childishly on the court. Case in point, a recent shot was blocked from behind by the Celts in the second quarter. Instead of hustling to the other end of the court, he turns to the officials holding his hands in the air "Where is the foul?" This is the playoffs. No blood. No foul. No crying. Meanwhile, Boston has a 4 on 2 break, misses the layup, Garnett gets the rebound and makes the put back at the basket after being fouled (on a legitimate call).
Why does a grown man making hundreds of millions of dollars let his team down like this? Even worse, why does he cry to the officials after every little call does not go his way, in a game which there are easily 100 calls to make? The trend appears to be contagious, as displayed by Wade and Bosh's equally childish demeanor. The whining hurts his team, reflects poorly on his character and leads to Mr. James receiving less benefit of the doubt in the long run. If Mr. James were to say, maybe (but lets not get too far ahead of ourselves), put his head down and run his ass to the other end instead of crying, perhaps he would receive the benefit of the doubt on the next call. I see some of this crying on television, but in person, the problem is far worse.
I don't recall Jordan, Bird or Magic crying to the officials after every little call. I only played freshmen basketball and I was far from the best on the team. However, I do know what it means to be humble. If I had ever displayed my disgust with officials as Mr. James does, my coach would have chewed my ass out--yelled for 15 minutes while spitting in my face, screamed at the top of his lungs and cussed me out so that the entire school could hear, just to make an example. He did do this on occasion for varsity baseball (thankfully not at me).
Being humble, hustling back on transition defense, not questioning every little call may go a long way to receiving the benefit of the doubt from the officials. There is the added benefit of helping your team out, making your coach look good, and preventing the easy rebound in transition. Please, for the love of the game, stop acting like a spoiled little child on the court. And hit your free throws.
Why does a grown man making hundreds of millions of dollars let his team down like this? Even worse, why does he cry to the officials after every little call does not go his way, in a game which there are easily 100 calls to make? The trend appears to be contagious, as displayed by Wade and Bosh's equally childish demeanor. The whining hurts his team, reflects poorly on his character and leads to Mr. James receiving less benefit of the doubt in the long run. If Mr. James were to say, maybe (but lets not get too far ahead of ourselves), put his head down and run his ass to the other end instead of crying, perhaps he would receive the benefit of the doubt on the next call. I see some of this crying on television, but in person, the problem is far worse.
I don't recall Jordan, Bird or Magic crying to the officials after every little call. I only played freshmen basketball and I was far from the best on the team. However, I do know what it means to be humble. If I had ever displayed my disgust with officials as Mr. James does, my coach would have chewed my ass out--yelled for 15 minutes while spitting in my face, screamed at the top of his lungs and cussed me out so that the entire school could hear, just to make an example. He did do this on occasion for varsity baseball (thankfully not at me).
Being humble, hustling back on transition defense, not questioning every little call may go a long way to receiving the benefit of the doubt from the officials. There is the added benefit of helping your team out, making your coach look good, and preventing the easy rebound in transition. Please, for the love of the game, stop acting like a spoiled little child on the court. And hit your free throws.
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