A few days ago, mysteriously still employed sportswritter Rick Reilly composed a piece about why Lebron James doesn’t deserve public scorn as he is in Reilly’s estimation a “Selfless Hoops Genius.” The piece made me want to throw up and although I do not wish for you to throw up as well it can be found here (PLEASE USE CAUTION AFTER CLICKING) http://espn.go.com/espn/story/_/id/8011587/lebron-being-lebron. After choking back the last few drops of my vomit, I calmly (or as calmly as I could) composed a reply to Reilly’s terrible piece and I have attached it here..
Enjoy..
Hello Rick,
I just read your LeBron column and could not have been more disappointed. While I am usually disappointed after reading your work, today’s piece was particularly un-funny and ignorant.
It was un-funny because as usual you are out of touch with what ESPN’s main demographic finds humourous. You are the type of writer one’s grandmother might have found funny years ago find funny but no one under the age of 40 will find you slightly amusing (I suspect this is why one is not allowed to leave comments below your work, while J.A. Adande and Jackie McMullan pieces are freely available for comment). But that is you and has been for some time.
Your ignorance today however, is what really sets this piece apart from your already disappointing body of work. First of all, the only reason you and other members of your profession are all over LeBron James is because you’re (excuse my language) “Star Fuckers” and because LeBron gives you access you want to gloss over his on-court achievements (or lack their-of) and his off-court behaviour (plus you and your bosses don’t want to pen the truth about LeBron for fear of a blackout similar to when Jordan blacked out SI for telling him to bag it).
The fact remains that people do not like LeBron for no reason, because there are plenty of reasons not to. He is selfish, spoiled ingrate who abandoned his fans/fanbase to take the coward’s way out and tried to find the short cut to winning a championship. And while you are correct in your statement that everyone has the right to do so, what really troubles fans is not just that he did this in the most obnoxious way, but that you and your peers continue to annoint him as the king of basketball. Not only has LeBron not won a title in 9 years despite being given every advantage from both the media and GMs who fall over backwards to cater to this guy, but he is not even one of the top two basketball players playing the game right now, so why the hype?
Because Kobe Bryant’s accolades and tenaciousness speak for themselves, I will make the case for why Kevin Durant is better player and a leader both on and off the court.
Kevin Durant is not only younger then Lebron, but is putting up numbers at a much higher clip then Lebron ever did (save assists and steals) so from a statistical stand point alone he is the better ball player. With respect to on court leadership, despite being much younger than LeBron he has been able to work with what his team has assembled around him and has brought his team to the cusp of beating what you and the rest of the mainsteam media were dubbing the greatest team of all time just a week ago, so here too he is the superior ball player. And finally with respect to being a leader off the court, well his actions speak for themselves. He inspires his teammates, takes less money to be true to his endorsements, and quietly shows gratitude to the team and fanbase that made him a star by signing a long-term deal when he didn’t have to. That is what being a superstar is all about, it takes that kind of leadership Mr. Reilly.
So while you and your peers might continue to spin stories about giving Lebron a break and why does the public hate him so, well part of the reason has to do with you. You continue to spin unoriginal falsehoods about the “King of Basketball” while paying tribute to him in the form of MVP trophies and the like, despite the facts.
Win or lose Kevin Durant is the superior basketball player(and of course Kobe Bryant already is), but if he wins a ring this year there should be no debate. Usually the general public is chastized for allowing bogus things to go unchecked (i.e. Howard Stern, Family Guy, Adam Sandler, Your Columns), but in this case they have got it absolutely right.
Stop trying to cram Lebron James down our throats.
Samir
www.hundyspot.com
Dylan
June 7, 2012 at 3:24 pm
There hasn’t been anything more gratifying in basketball than watching Miami fall apart 2 years in a row after talking about building a dynasty. Memo to Lebron, Wade, and Bosh: people talk about a dynasty after a minimum of 3 trips to the final and 2 wins. See Lakers or Spurs.
I almost want Miami to come back and make the finals just so we can watch Durant and co make Lebron cry again.