Ego and the Corporate Image

ABOVE: "You can't do that...I'm Lebron James!"

I used to have a lot of respect for Lebron James. While I still think he is the most talented player in the NBA, I don't have as much respect for him as a man. I’m not even talking about refusing to shake hands with Dwight Howard and The Magic after they beat Lebron and the Cavaliers handily in last season’s Eastern Conference Finals. That did show poor sportsmanship, but I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. He was so committed and so crushed that he couldn’t face defeat; or perhaps it was a strategic move to show the Cleveland ownership how pissed he was that they did not surround him with more help. To be generous to Lebron, maybe it was "strategery" to get the Cleveland brass to make some good moves in the offseason in order to keep Lebron happy and therefore stay in Cleveland next summer when his contract is up.

But after the season ended, Lebron was often seen around town with his posse haughtily decked out in their New York gangsta gear. The rumors were already flying around the Mistake by the Lake that Lebron was seriously considering bolting for the lights of Broadway. (I’m not sure why anyone would want to be a part of the Knicks organization, but that's another discussion). No class.

And now comes The Dunk That Didn't Happen. At Lebron’s skills camp that he and Nike sponsor, Lebron played in a pick-up game with various college and high school stars. One college player was Jordan Crawford of Xavier. In the game Crawford allegedly slammed a two handed dunk on King James. I say allegedly because soon after the alleged dunk occurred, Lebron ordered the Nike stormtroopers at the game to confiscate all video evidence of said alleged dunk. Nike and Lebron initiated a media blackout, there is to be no video anywhere…not on ESPN, not on YouTube. The King cannot be seen getting stuffed by a college kid. Is Lebron so humorless, so beholden to his own image that he can’t even laugh off a dunk in a pick up game? What a douche. I did not realize just how much Nike owned Lebron.

But living in the technological age in which we live, there is footage that has leaked out. The Nike Gestapo let one recording slip through the cracks! If you go to TMZ.com they have footage from some dude’s cell phone who was watching the game. The footage is from a distance and grainy (and the dunk is not that impressive anyway), but there is the evidence that it did occur. First breaking the death of Michael Jackson, and now Lebron Stuffed. Impressive, TMZ, impressive.

As usual with cover-ups and conspiracies, the story is much bigger now that Lebron and Nike tried to get their goons to destroy all of the evidence vs. just laughing it off. It would have been a hot YouTube video for about a day and a half and then forgotten. I can't believe I'm saying this, but Kobe Bryant looks downright mature in comparison. You can add this story to the growing mountain of evidence that King James may not be fit for the throne.