LeBron James has been arguably the most scrutinized, hyped, and tantalizing athlete of my generation. At this point, unless you’re totally naive, you’ve come to respect his greatness on the basketball court. He is hands down one of the best basketball players to ever take the hardwood. His achievements speak for themselves. If you for some reason – you think he’s overrated or sucks then there’s no argument that I or anyone can ever make to convince you of his greatness.
LeBron James the person, on the other hand, still has a lot of haters and naysayers. The people who continue to dislike him, as a person have many terms to describe him; tool, loser, cocky, fake, big-ego, etc.
There are “many” reasons LBJ the person has elicited many haters over the years. These people will start their argument with how he handled “The Decision.” This was when LeBron televised his choice to spurn the city of Cleveland and join the Miami Heat live on ESPN back in July of 2010. I was also throwing a lot of shade at LBJ for the way he handled this situation.
LeBron has been the first one to regret how he handled “the decision.” He’s been quoted saying “If I had to go back on it, I probably would do it a little bit different.” He’s also said, “If the shoe was on the other foot and I was a fan, and I was very passionate about one player, and he decided to leave, I would be upset too about the way he handled it.”
Personally I gave up my hate over LeBron’s handling of that situation a long time ago. He made a mistake, lived up to it, and moved on. It would be silly to hold it against him for the rest of his career. After all it’s not like he cheated on his wife (Tiger), was caught in the hairs of a murder (Ray Lewis), or gambling at casinos the night before a game (Michael Jordan). Lets also not forget that he returned to the Cleveland Cavilers a few years later and helped lead the city to its first championship in any sport for the first time in 52 years!
Other people will argue that LeBron is just “so cocky” based on his tweets or Instagrams. The latest Instagram that sparked controversy was one from last Tuesday per below…
All the LeBron haters are coming out after him on this one.
“Oh wow he’s so “humble”… congratulating himself for an achievement he hasn’t even accomplished yet.”
For those of you out there who want to continue to critique him for every single thing he says, tweets, instagrams, and does on or off the basketball court, here’s some advice.. get over it and put yourself in LeBron’s shoes for a second.
Imagine the following scenarios: growing up with no father at any point in your life, moving a dozen times and living on couches with your troubled mother between the ages of 5-8, being told as a junior in high school and up until today that you’re going to be the best ever at your profession and that you are the “second coming.” There hasn’t been a single athlete that ever has had to deal with as much hype and expectations as LeBron James.
Now picture this when it comes to LeBron… he’s lived up to all the pressure and more, not only on the basketball court, but off it as well. He’s never even sniffed trouble with the law off the court, and he was named one of Time Magazine’s top 100 most influential people in the world. He has started his own philanthropy work to essentially rebuild the Akron, Ohio school community.
As a leader of his team, his teammates will vouch that he is one of the hardest-workers they’ve ever seen. He’s never taken his incredible athletic genes for granted. Take for example this quote by teammate Kyle Korver.
“Behind the scenes, just how hard he works. He’s a machine. You don’t see guys this late in their careers, guys who’ve had this much success, be the first guy in the gym. He’s still there. I was blown away.”
If you want to argue that LeBron has a lot confidence and once in awhile has a big-head… I won’t argue with you. But don’t take for granted everything he’s achieved in his career, on and off the basketball court. Don’t take for granted that he’s been told for almost 20 years just how good he was going to be/is… and has lived up to all expectations. I would wager that if the roles were reversed and you were in his shoes, you’d probably have just as “big a head” as LeBron… if not much bigger. I know I would…
If LeBron wants to take time to gloss over one personal milestone, that means a lot to him, then let the man be! He’s overcome a lot over the years and could never have never imagined in his wildest dreams, that he would be where he is today in his career/life.
The only athlete in my generation that I think has had as much sustained success as LeBron is none other than our own hero Tom Brady. As a Tom Brady fan, it irritates me when haters call Tom a “cheater” for deflategate, a “baby” for always complaining to the refs, or a “pretty boy loser” for putting his name to the Uggs. These irrational reasons for shooting hate towards Tom Brady are frustrating and dumb… and not much different than the irrational hate people aim towards LeBron.
So if you are someone who is constantly hating on LeBron James, hopefully this article has opened a new light for you on why it’s time to push that hatred to the side. Sit back and start embracing the once in a lifetime NBA Player, and the man he is. Respect the greatness y’all!
Sports Chatter with MJD 