Reggie Jackson defends LeBron James
While appearing on the Dan Patrick Show on Monday, former Yankee Reggie Jackson stuck up for LeBron James for signing with the Heat.
From SI.com:
Reggie thinks people are unfairly criticizing LeBron James. “I’m not offended at all that he did that,” Jackson said. Reggie said that he would have done that if he thought it would save time and effort.
Reggie said if he was in the same position, he would have loved to join his friends. Reggie would have loved to play with his good friend Jim Rice in Boston. “I would have loved to join those guys,” Jackson said.
Jackson also pointed out LeBron could have made more money in another sport. “If LeBron James was in baseball, he’d probably be playing for the Yankees,” Jackson said.
I think more people are upset with the way LeBron went about this process than they are that he signed with the Heat. Are we really surprised that a 25-year-old picked South Beach over Cleveland? Are we really surprised that he chose the path of least resistance in order to win a championship? Are we really surprised that he wanted to play with D-Wade and Bosh?
We shouldn’t be. So in some instances, I agree with Jackson that the criticism of LeBron is unfair. What he should be criticized for is giving up on the Cavs in the playoffs last year when he knew he was heading out of town. He should be criticized for not being more sympathetic to the city that treated him like a “king” for eight years. It’s nice that a lot of money from the ESPN special went to charity, but he probably could have just given the Boys and Girls club a check and just held a press conference, too.
The bottom line for me is that LeBron could have handled the situation better, but I’m not going to rip the man for the decision to sign with the Heat.
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I agree with just about everything you said, but I don’t think we can say that LeBron ‘quit’ against the Celtics so matter of factly. Did he suck? Yes, but I thought he played hard and just missed shots.
Just because a guy has a crappy game shooting the ball doesn’t mean that he quit on his team.
“He should be criticized for not being more sympathetic to the city that treated him like a “king” for eight years.” – the perfect comment for this situation. Fans have an investment in their players and the team…jerseys, memorabilia, tickets, and an emotional investment as well. Of course Reggie isn’t offended…he was the prototype for today’s self-promoting, carpet-bagger athlete who only cares about fans when they’re shelling out their hard-earned money for their jerseys. Word to Miami…if they don’t win, don’t get too attached.
I think he quit. It was one of the strangest performances ever by a “star” in crunch time. Now that we’ve seen this play out, he clearly had one foot out the door.
His post game comments rivaled the idiocy of his one hour special. The idea that he “spoiled” fans with his play and that he wasn’t bothered by having one bad night. The Cavs got blown out at home by over 30 points in the biggest game of the season and he didn’t give a shit.
I don’t think every 25-year old would make the same decision, and winners like Kobe and MJ would not have behaved the way LeBron did from the Celtics series all the way to his disgusting ego-fest.
He left, and frankly as a Cavs fan I’m now happy he’s gone – rooting for him was becoming more difficult every year. I wanted him to grow up and stay, and he disgusted me with what he did to the city with this spectacle, but now that he’s gone my only feeling is “good riddance.”
Granted, he played terribly in Game 5, but he posted 27 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists in Game 6. That doesn’t seem like a guy that quit on his team.
And remember, he may or may not have found out before Game 4 or Game 5 that his mom was having an affair with one of his teammates.
I was rooting against him in Cleveland as well, but I just don’t think that he quit in Game 5. He has always had long stretches where he refused to take the ball to the hole and that just seemed like one of those games. The Celtics were pretty good defensively as well. They held Kobe to 6-of-24 shooting in Game 7 of the Finals.
It’s an obvious case of a guy not thinking through the entire situation. Now instead of being the guy that’s going to bring a championship to a team, he’s one of three hired guns that will bring a championship to a team. He might as well have admitted that he doesn’t want to work hard to win, he wants the easy road. How are you supposed to respect that as a fan? I see this as a bad strategic move on his part because fans see through the bullshit…see: A-Rod. It’s a similar situation. I get that it’s a team game and no one guy can win it themselves, but there is always a face the media and fans put on a championship team but now James will have company, instead of being the go-to guy. It seems he never wanted to be that in the first place.
Couldn’t disagree more, T-Bone. Who says that star players have to make things difficult for themselves? Everyone in the NBA is a ‘hired gun’ and by the time LeBron’s contract is up, we’ll likely remember him more for his time with the Heat than for his time in Cleveland.
He gave up money and alpha dog status to put himself in the position to win multiple championships. So many players say it’s ‘all about winning’ and then proceed to follow the money. Aside from the circus aspect of his announcement, the decision itself is rather refreshing, at least to me.
Not surprisingly, I don’t see it that way. The only great talent that comes to mind who gave up the “alpha dog” status for a championship is A-Rod and the stories of his insecurities tell you he’s not mentally tough enough to be the “straw that stirs the drink” as Reggie would say. He couldn’t handle the pressure so he decided to sell out and ride Jeter’s coat tail, rather than be the go-to guy and put his own stamp on a ring. I think we’re seeing the same thing here. If James is the real deal, there’s no way he’d want to share the load. The great ones always want the last shot but apparently, Lebron would rather look for the open man.
>>The only great talent that comes to mind who gave up the “alpha dog” status for a championship is A-Rod
Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen… 2008 NBA title.
>>The great ones always want the last shot but apparently, Lebron would rather look for the open man.
LeBron has hit plenty of game-winners and isn’t afraid to take the last shot. This has nothing to do with giving himself the best chance to win multiple championships. Magic wasn’t a last-shot kind of guy (though, like LeBron, he wasn’t fearful) and relished his role as set-up man.
Let’s say we know the future — is it better to spend the next six years in Cleveland and win no titles or go to Miami and win three? You’re assuming he’d break through in Cleveland, but with the way things were going, that looks like a relative long shot.
I’d rather have KG’s legacy than Karl Malone’s or Charles Barkley’s.
Reggie — because of when and where I grew up, still my favorite athlete of all time — has a point, but LeBron did quit on the Cavs. Reggie’s old bete noire Billy Martin would said, “You showed me up!” and much worse. And as the Heat are Dwyane Wade’s team, more even than the ’77 Yankees were Thurman Munson’s team, LeBron will never be “the straw that stirs the drink” in Miami. In fact, he may end up spilling it.
“The great ones always want the last shot but apparently, Lebron would rather look for the open man.”
It meant it as a metaphor that great players want to be the center of their team’s success, not just another player. The great ones want to be the guy that lifts their team and makes everyone else around them better…”the straw that stirs the drink”…but it seems Lebron would rather just have the guys be better already. Same results with less effort.
Guys that achieve success as home grown players are almost always more revered than guys that show up just to get a ring. If Lebron really was fearless, he wouldn’t have been afraid to stay in Cleveland and be thee guy to build a championship around. Instead he ran away.
It’s not like he didn’t give Cleveland a chance — he re-signed with the Cavs after his rookie contract was up. We criticize athletes for being selfish and wanting the limelight, but when a guy puts himself in the best situation to win multiple championships, putting winning above all else, we criticize him for not being enough of an ‘alpha dog.’