Witness LeBron's Dishonorable Discharge
NBA superstar considers him above the concept of sportsmanship
By KYLE WEIDIE
Updated 6:30 PM EST, Mon, Jun 1, 2009
On Saturday, the dethroned King allowed all to 'witness' prototypical unsportsmanlike behavior which perfectly exemplified why many in the NBA blogosphere community are tired of LeBron's antics, and not just Wizards faithful. In not congratulating the Orlando Magic after the game, LeBron refused to put aside his ego and recognize that the better team prevailed.
The falsely anointed LeBron James didn't lose to Orlando because of his ability as a player to drop buckets, snag rebounds, and dish out dimes. Rather, the superstar couldn't unite his team and convert the cohesive play that led them to 66 regular-season wins into playoff success.
After the game, LeBron said, "I'm a competitor. That's what I do. It don't make sense to me to go up and shake somebody's hand."
Not buying it. Maybe you don't congratulate your opponent if you lose in war, or even in a courtroom. But on a basketball court, and throughout the world of sports, it's the honorable thing to do. And a king without honor is just a self-absorbed tyrant.
Teammate Mo Williams was left on an island to compare LeBron to a spoiled brat at Christmas: "He's just disappointed. It's like you're at Christmastime and you want that remote control car. You've been begging your mom for the whole time, and Christmas comes, and you open up a present and you open up another present, another present, and you never see that remote control car. You can have 10 presents, but if you don't have that remote control car, you're going to be sad and disappointed anyway."
Kinda sad. Not the continued plight of long-suffered Cavaliers fans, but the actions of their presumed savior. Adding insult to years of Cleveland sports injury, LeBron mockingly sported a Yankees hat Sunday as he left Clevelanders hanging on whether he would leave their lakeside city or not.
This isn't the first time LeBron has made a quick exit after a playoff loss, and judging by his words, it probably won't be the last. Some LeBron apologists have cited that otherwise, he has been an upstanding NBA citizen. But the NBA is not where excuses happen. With an MVP and six years in the league under his belt, James has had more than enough time to acquire even the most basic of sportsmanship lessons. Otherwise, he's nothing more than a king of a puppet regime.
Kyle Weidie is a D.C. resident who writes Truth About It and contributes to Bullets Forever, both Washington Wizards blogs.
Copyright NBC Local Media
First Published: Jun 1, 2009 4:17 PM EST
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