Well, not only is LeBron an ass for the way he bailed on Cleveland, but it turns out he's anti-union

[MadHound]

This guy is just alienating everybody he comes into contact with.

"James advocated contraction of teams, the loss of jobs and furthered the make-believe revision that the 1980s had a deeper pool of talent with fewer teams. “Watered down,” he called the NBA, and ownership has been gifted such a public-relations coup in its historic campaign to crush the players’ union.

As one prominent agent said, “How do you say that right before collective bargaining? Does he get that he’s advocating to reduce the number of jobs in the league? LeBron has no idea what happens when he says like this.”

<http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=aw-kobelebron122410>

Even more of a reason to hope that LeBron and the Heat crater this season.

[HillbillyBob]

1. Frankly I don't look up to sports figures..unless they happen to be taller

than I.

I dont see all that many giving back and wtf do they do to deserve millions? What about the nurse or school teacher or? who has to work 12 hr shifts for crap pay while they wonder how the hell they are going to make ends meet,.
Those of us who have seen our household income drop from 100g a year to 28?

It also really pisses me of that sports teams expect tax payers to pay for their ball parks , arenas while the players take millions home to buy rolls royces, houses big enough to contain an arena, jewelery chunky enough to choke a horse while kids starve.

[Sherman A1]

2. +1, Agreed & Well Said!

You hit the nail on the head.

[BrklynLiberal]

8. +1000!! Teachers, nurses and firefighters are the ones who should be earning millions..

instead of being treated like THEY are the burdens to society.

Professional sports is a part of the "Bread and Circus" for the public, so they are the ones given the $ and prestige.

[w4rma]

15. The sports teams' owners take home way more than the players. (nt)

[Prometheus Bound]

35. Except for Michael Jordan. So far.

[w4rma]

37. As of Feburary 2010 Jordan became the first former NBA player ever to become the majority owner

... of a league franchise. Michael Jordan is the majority owner of the Bobcats.

[KharmaTrain]

3. Who Cares...

Yes, as a Bulls fan whose enjoying what's turning out to be a very good team, it's nice to see Miami suck on its big money superstars and struggle to play .500. LeBron has always been a pompous jerk...just for the folks around the Cayahoga, he was their jerk.

He does have a point about the expansion of professional sports. This isn't as anti union as it is economic reality...there are a lot of teams that are drowning in red ink and they expect the fans and taxpayers to pick up the slack. For many years they did...the mantra of having a sports franchise means jobs and money in a local economy. But since when does throwing 10 or 20 million a year for one player (union or not...and I'm very pro union here) mean more jobs? Just higher ticket prices that prevent the "Average Joe" from even watching the games on free teevee (that's all on cable).

[DemocratSinceBirth]

6. Struggle To Play 500?

They are 22-8.

[KharmaTrain]

14. Hot Quite The 73 Wins...

It's also a long season...but honestly all the hype is fine and good if it's your team and the point being that Lebron is and always been a self-centered jerkwad. Just depends who jerk he is...

That said...many just like seeing Miami lose like they do the Yankees or Cowboys. What fun is it if you can't have a good hate? LOL.

Best of luck...let's see if the big money gamble pays off and the egos can deliver come the playoffs...

[Mudoria]

4. I dislike James for many reasons

but in this case he's right. There are far too many teams resulting in terrible play and poor fan support. Personally I'd like to see the NBA dump 6-10 teams. Same goes for the NFL and MLB. I'd rather see a very strong league full of good players rather than what we have now: A few great teams, a few good teams and then a bunch of mediocre teams.

[BrklynLiberal]

5. Dilution of talent when ALL sports expanded their franchises was inevitable....

totally unforeseeable..right??? DUH. But the almighty $$$$ trumped any concern for the quality of the sports involved.


Not only are the less talented now in professional sports, but the standards for behavior and just plain decency have disappeared with the quest for the player who will attract the most fans, and thereby the most $$$.

The salaries for professional sports players these days are obscene.

Why should LeBron care about the "little guy". He is a multi-millionaire. Typical.."I've got mine. Screw the rest of you."

[BrklynLiberal]

7. LeBron is a millionnaire. He does not give a sh^t about anyone else..

Probably votes repuke....

[DemocratSinceBirth]

9. The Bright Side

Most of these players who are making these huge salaries are people of color and would not be making these salaries without the opportunity professional sports provide and most of then including "The King" give back to their community...

[proud2BlibKansan]

18. Most of them?

I don't think so. Some, not most.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

20. Over 70% Of NFL Plahyers Are Black

82% of NBA Players are black.

Nearly forty percent of MLB players are Hispanic or African American.

[proud2BlibKansan]

21. Sorry I was responding to this:

"most of then including "The King" give back to their community..."

[DemocratSinceBirth]

24. No Problem

.

[HillbillyBob]

33. I was not addressing race or the fact that a good percentage

make much less. I was addressing the ones who get millions and the seeming empty fan adoration.
I do know that a good number do give back to their communities and applaud that.

Sports for all as in exercise and team work is a good thing.
Sitting watching, not so much.

[Exilednight]

10. I never understood why millionaires need unions to begin with.

And before anyone brings up that they aren't all millionaires, take a look at these numbers. They might not be millionaires outright, but they will be soon.

Minimum pay for NBA rookie: 473,604
Minimum pay for maximum years (10+ years in league): 1,352,181

Minimum pay for NFL rookie: 309,000 (first through third round draft picks have guarantees in the low tens of millions to high single digit millions)

Minimum pay for MLB rookie: 400,000

[DemocratSinceBirth]

11. Because The Owners Collude And There Were No Guarantees For Players Who Became Permanently Injured

.

[Exilednight]

12. None of the major sports guarantee money.

That ended when Bo Jackson ran over Brian Bosworth, and both eventually were injured to the point of no longer being able to play in the NFL. They can release you at any time and not pay you a single cent. A player might draw a small stipen for injuries received during play, but it's not their guaranteed contract money.

Let us not forget that these guys are getting paid to play a game. Nothing more. I love watching sports on TV, but I wouldn't be heartbroken if they totally disappeared.

It's not like these guys are saving lives or creating cheap and green energy methods. They're throwing or hitting a ball around on grass or hardwood floors.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

13. That's The Problem

NFL contracts aren't guaranteed. Their pensions are a pittance. And many of them have lingering injuries including trauma to their brains that haunt them their whole life. The human body , especially the cranium, weren't meant to absorb that kind of punishment.

The NBA has guaranteed contracts... Grant Hill got ninenty six million dollars for playing about fifty games in five or so years...

[proud2BlibKansan]

19. And they make enough money to live comfortably for years after they retire

It's called managing on what you have.

When I was a kid, pro athletes weren't paid like they are today. And I liked some of them better than these spoiled little rich boys today.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

22. Hard To Be Comfortable When You Have Dementia From Getting Hit Repeatedly In The Head

A study commissioned by the National Football League reports that Alzheimer’s disease or similar memory-related diseases appear to have been diagnosed in the league’s former players vastly more often than in the national population — including a rate of 19 times the normal rate for men ages 30 through 49.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/30/sports/football/30dementia.html

And hard to live comfortably when your life espectancy is cut by thirty years:

Studies in the United States show that men who play five or more years in the NFL have a life expectancy of 55, 20 years less than the average in the general public. For linemen, perhaps due to their size, the life expectancy is 52.

http://www.nowpublic.com/sports/average-lifespan-football-player-52

[proud2BlibKansan]

23. And if you save your money and don't buy fancy cars and junk you don't need

My point is that while they are making the money they need to be managing it. They are in a short term career. How many think about what they are going to do for the rest of their life?

I can remember when pro athletes were grossly UNDERpaid. We've gone way too far in the opposite direction.

As for their health problems, no one is forcing them to be pro athletes. But perhaps the NFL could have a better health care program for its retirees.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

25. I Agree For The Most Part But Football Is A Brutal Sport

The human body was not constructed to absorb that kind of punishment. Because of my former line of work I got to be around a lot of retired football players. Few of them had what you or I would consider a normal gait...

[proud2BlibKansan]

27. My dad was friends with many pro football players

And you are correct. But the ones my dad knew were paid a pittance compared to the money these kids are making today. And they managed to have health care, etc. because they thought about life after football. Most went on to second careers. That's what's missing today - the NFL needs to do a better job of helping its players plan for life after football.

[silverlib]

16. I was at a liberal leaning meeting this past week, discussing Ayn Rand

and LeBron was held up as a "perfect follower."

[proud2BlibKansan]

17. This is what happens when we elevate young kids to hero status

[DenverDad]

26. So much for the top 2%

being "job creators". Does he realize how many people (players, team employees, arena employees) would be out of a job is the NBA contracted? I notice he wasn't advocating for the league not to draft players right out of high school (one of which he was), IMO this has contributed to "watered down" talent.

Maybe he wants to eliminate the competition. So much for the "free-market".

[Codeine]

28. Shut up and bounce your little ball.

Douchenozzle.

[Still a Democrat]

29. LeBron had every right to leave Cleveland

and the hissy fit about it is silly.

That said, he seems selfish in pushing for contraction.

[Guilded Lilly]

30. And Cleveland has every right to boo his ass whenever they want...

for however long they want. ( and frankly I hope they do for a long time)

Sports needs it's passion pro or con.

[Tempest]

31. They can boo him all they want

Miami's still going to stomp the shit out of them on the court.

[Still a Democrat]

32. The venom was over the top and makes them look ugly

But thay have every right to it, yes.

[Prometheus Bound]

36. It seems a bit too much like Pro Wrestling some times though.

With all the fake hype and overdone feelings of hurt.

[Scurrilous]

34. Miami Heat 96 LA Lakers 80

LeBron - a triple double.

The Heat have now won 14 out of their last 15 games.

Merry Christmas!!