Pick Your Poison

It's true. If you were watching Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals, you espied LeBron James showing himself to be a little beotch as he stormed off the court after his Cavs got ousted by the Orlando Magic. He skipped the post game press conference too. And if that wasn't enough, he had this to say later after he had cooled down:

"It's hard for me to congratulate somebody after I just lost to them. I’m a winner. It’s not being a poor sport or anything like that. If somebody beats you up, you’re not going to congratulate them. That doesn’t make sense to me. I’m a competitor. That’s what I do. It doesn’t make sense for me to go over and shake somebody’s hand."

So apparently winners don't shake hands after a competition. That's what an entire generation has learned from King James. America's future looks bright.

As you can imagine, the sports media and bloggers jumped all over this. King James' tantrum has even made it into the general news area. Angry writers denounced James for showing poor sportsmanship and some even managed to connect his pouting to the miserable existence so many American live in the current economy.

I happen to agree that James is a punk, but more for what he said than what he did. "I'm a winner?" Could you sound like more of an arrogant little jackass who's never had to actually struggle?

But before I go all holier than thou on King James, I would like to remind you that just a few years ago, the same sports bloggers that are blasting James for his child like behavior after the Orlando series were ripping into Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks for not having that killer instinct.

Maybe that's where James learned how to act. He watched and read everyone complaining that Dirk seemed too gracious when his team lost. He read every blogger and writer explain that Dirk would never be a top player until he screamed and wanted to bury teams.

Here's a thought: let players be themselves. If they're assbags, that kind of behavior will show itself. If they're soft, we'll all see it. Stop trying to create the ultimate player who can turn into a vicious killer on the court and then suddenly becomes a gracious human being when the buzzer sounds.

I believe James should be fined for his behavior as a P.R. saving move for the NBA. After that, let James be James. If he's a big baby, people will make fun of him for being a big baby. Others will applaud him for hating to lose. There are all types of personalities out there, so let different fans find their type of player whether it's a win at all costs guy or someone who can behave like a gentleman when the game is over.

Or you can just root for the Birdman because you like mohawks and tattoos.