Lebron James has been suspended

[SoxWin]

Why is there no reason for me to fell he should be taught a lesson for breaking rules? Are rules not what govern a civilized society?

My feeling is that people should follow the rules/laws that govern the occupation of their choice.

If you choose not to, you pay the consequences.

I wish Lebron well, and he's going to make a ton of dough doing something that most of us are not capable of doing. That's outstanding for him and his family/friends.

Pleading ignorance of the rules is a copout imo. There is no jealousy involved.

I've stated a couple of times that the rule is assinine but it is still in effect and must be followed.

I have little doubt that the hummer controversy and his "win" (rightfully so as his mother is footing the bill) made the sports authorities angry and they are getting back at him now. That makes them petty dispicable human beings if that is the case. It does not however, exonerate him from wrong doing.

The fact many many people are making $ of him while expecting him to remain pure as the driven snow is reprehensible.

I'm not sure why you seem to think that two wrongs make a right though. I highly doubt there are rules governing his school profiting from his success. That's ****ed up, but until there are, they have technically done no wrong.

I disagree that he is being held to a higher then reasonable standard but we'll have to leave it at that. Apparently I'm wrong for feeling the way I do.

Rich

[CMH]

Originally posted by SoxWin


If someone offered me some free jerseys and I knew that if it was found out I'd taken them that I'd be booted off my HS team, I certainly would NOT take them.

My only argument in this whole deal is just this. I won't quote anything else b/c it's not a concner of mine.

I think the point here is that Lebron James did not know he would be booted off the HS team for accepting two jerseys. If he had known, do you think he would have taken them? the second he found out that those jerseys hurt his eligibility, he decided to take them back...on his own.

Before this whole deal came up, I had no idea that a high school player couldn't accept more than $100 in gifts. Like I said, I don't even know if there's a similar rule in New York.

Yes, James was naive to the rule but it's not fair to put blame on him entirely. I'm not blaming the coaches, or Ohio, or anyone. I'm just blaming everyone. Ohio should perhaps give out a rule book prior to each season (at least to the coaches), the coaches should inform their players, and the players should know the rules. I don't think that was happening.

LeBron knew little that he was breaking a rule. He should have just been given the chance to give back the jerseys and that's it. The Ohio System made somethin so simple into a complicated matter.

I agree that a rule is a rule. In America, you break a rule, you suffer the consequences. But, I ask, is an insane individual held responsible for his actions? I don't think so - I could be wrong - but I believe the reason is b/c they do not know exactly what they are doing. They are incapable of thinking. LeBron was incapable of knowing the rule b/c he was never taught the rule. Should he have gone out of his way to learn the rule? Perhaps, but I don't think anyone here is expecting an athlete to know every little rule. Maybe, LeBron should have found out before accepting the jerseys. But he's 18 years old. Imagine how excited you would have been if someone offered you two jerseys totaling $400 plus. You don't think in a moment like that. You just react.

LeBron is just being used as an example b/c of his explosion in highschool. It's sad, but true.

[sixto]

Originally posted by SoxWin
I'm not sure why you seem to think that two wrongs make a right though. I highly doubt there are rules governing his school profiting from his success. That's ****ed up, but until there are, they have technically done no wrong.

I disagree that he is being held to a higher then reasonable standard but we'll have to leave it at that. Apparently I'm wrong for feeling the way I do.

I was going to leave it at that, but anyway, no you're not wrong for feeling the way you do, your opinion differs from mine. If I'm stating my feelings a little strongly, it's just because I get frustrated that the school and the kid are getting picked on, that they are "profiting" from James's basketball talent. For shame! It's a world in which athletic skill is as highly marketable as almost anything, except in this case.

Then what's really antagonizing is the ones who are profiting from this story the most wrongly are the media, who sell their stories by hyping this kid. It's like the Weather Channel reporting "THERE'S GOING TO BE A HUGE STORM! OLD LADIES IN SARASOTA WILL BE LUCKY TO SURVIVE!!! Story after Weather on the Eights." They can't get you to tune in unless they make the news more compelling. LeBron James pumped up the joymeters in living rooms across the land. Let us have more LeBron James reports. The Cleveland Plain Dealer has a LeBron James Web site.

The media are making people believe that this kid should be demonized, and we are believing them. This is *not* an unusual occurrence, a student athlete taking advantage of his fame, and what I'm saying is not that a wrong isn't a wrong, I'm saying that a wrong usually isn't a wrong, when it comes to cases like these, but today, because the media decided it is, it is.

So anyway, I can't possibly believe anyone wants to hear me rant any more and I will stop. I don't begrudge you your opinion and most of the time I'd be right there with you, Rich, but not this time. LeBron James is being picked on, and though I've kept the racial angle out of all of my comments because I don't think it applies in any discussion I've had with anyone here, I think out there, it's the biggest reason this is happening, and I wish someone would step up and say so.

[Crapshoot]

Originally posted by sixto
I was going to leave it at that, but anyway, no you're not wrong for feeling the way you do, your opinion differs from mine. If I'm stating my feelings a little strongly, it's just because I get frustrated that the school and the kid are getting picked on, that they are "profiting" from James's basketball talent. For shame! It's a world in which athletic skill is as highly marketable as almost anything, except in this case.

Then what's really antagonizing is the ones who are profiting from this story the most wrongly are the media, who sell their stories by hyping this kid. It's like the Weather Channel reporting "THERE'S GOING TO BE A HUGE STORM! OLD LADIES IN SARASOTA WILL BE LUCKY TO SURVIVE!!! Story after Weather on the Eights." They can't get you to tune in unless they make the news more compelling. LeBron James pumped up the joymeters in living rooms across the land. Let us have more LeBron James reports. The Cleveland Plain Dealer has a LeBron James Web site.

The media are making people believe that this kid should be demonized, and we are believing them. This is *not* an unusual occurrence, a student athlete taking advantage of his fame, and what I'm saying is not that a wrong isn't a wrong, I'm saying that a wrong usually isn't a wrong, when it comes to cases like these, but today, because the media decided it is, it is.

So anyway, I can't possibly believe anyone wants to hear me rant any more and I will stop. I don't begrudge you your opinion and most of the time I'd be right there with you, Rich, but not this time. LeBron James is being picked on, and though I've kept the racial angle out of all of my comments because I don't think it applies in any discussion I've had with anyone here, I think out there, it's the biggest reason this is happening, and I wish someone would step up and say so.

Sox win,
I think sixto summarized my feelings on the case here.
Simply put, I think the kid is getting a raw deal; someone offered
him a gift, and he took it. I dont think he thought it would get him kicked of his team; the assertion that he would do it knowing that seems patently ridiculous. In the hurry to demonize and sensationalize this guy, people conveniently forget the parts they dont like. From all accounts, he doesnt fit the "dumb" jock stereotype (a 3.5 is a pretty good GPA; Id venture its better than what 80-90% of this board had). I, more than sixto, am bothered by the fact that he isnt allowed to profit from his efforts yet, and given the draconian rules that govern college and high school atheletes in this regard, I dont think he ever would be. To me, its a simple case; someone has a highly valuable skill set that he isnt allowed to market at a fair price; to add insult to injury, everyone else around him or with a stake is allowed to make a quick buck of him. Im not putting words in your mouth per se; but the wrong is hardly a 'wrong' in my books. The greater question though, is how on earth a Wes Unseld jersey is worth 400$+..

[magicmike]

The greater question though, is how on earth a Wes Unseld jersey is worth 400$+..

Elected Hall of Fame '88
Named to NBA 50th Anniversary All-Time Team
NBA MVP - '68-'69
NBA Rookie of the Year '68-'69
5-time NBA All-Star
4 NBA Finals
NBA Championship '77-'78 (Finals MVP)
10th All-Time NBA Rebounds
6th All-Time NBA Rebounds per game
10,000 pts and 10,000 rebounds
Top Rebounder and Assist Maker in Bullets history

The Bullets franchise had never had a winning season in its history until Wes Unseld was drafted by the team #2 overall in 1968. In his first season the Bullets improved by 21 games and won their division (they had finished 6th the year before). In Unseld's 13 years the team had 10 winning seasons and 12 consecutive playoff appearances. He is one of only two players (the other is Chamberlain) to win NBA MVP and Rookie-of-the-Year in the same season.

To get some perspective I just took a quick look at one site on the net and I see an Antonio McDyess!!! autographed jersey for sale for $300. Shaq, Kobe, around $600, probably be worth more 30 years after they've retired? Unseld for $400 doesn't seem so bad compared to that.

On the topic of James, I see it this way. All he had to do was follow a rule that responsible parents teach their five-year-old kids: don't accept gifts from strangers. If a person has character it's not that hard. If a person truly has 3.5 g.p.a. intelligence it's not that hard. If a person who's been put under the microscope and international spotlight just becomes conscious of what's happening around him then it's not that hard. You can't convince me that he didn't know he shouldn't be accepting anything of value from anyone after the Hummer investigation. Although he's surely been subjected to bad influence and advice (see mom as exhibit A) he broke the rule and should have been held to bear the consequences. The people who fought to have him reinstated are exploiting him in their own interests just as much as anybody else in the story.