OT: Lebron James

[taruky1]

I know this is old news, but an article about his dealings with Jay-Z got me thinking. This guy ranks among the most shallow athletes I have ever seen. His goal in life is to be the first billionaire athlete? Whoopdeedoo. Garbage collectors are more valuable to society than you, LeBron. I have nothing against someone earning boatloads of money, but for goodness sakes the guy has no redeeming value outside of his play on the court. He can't carry Bill Gates' jock strap as a human being.

[Happyfoosball]

I know this is old news, but an article about his dealings with Jay-Z got me thinking. This guy ranks among the most shallow athletes I have ever seen. His goal in life is to be the first billionaire athlete? Whoopdeedoo. Garbage collectors are more valuable to society than you, LeBron. I have nothing against someone earning boatloads of money, but for goodness sakes the guy has no redeeming value outside of his play on the court. He can't carry Bill Gates' jock strap as a human being.

I don't know him so I can't say. Do you know him?

[mhectorgato]

I know this is old news, but an article about his dealings with Jay-Z got me thinking. This guy ranks among the most shallow athletes I have ever seen. His goal in life is to be the first billionaire athlete? Whoopdeedoo. Garbage collectors are more valuable to society than you, LeBron. I have nothing against someone earning boatloads of money, but for goodness sakes the guy has no redeeming value outside of his play on the court. He can't carry Bill Gates' jock strap as a human being.

Are you judging him on based on the media reports of him, or from your personal dealings with him?

BTW - What are talking about - him and JayZ?

[AdamTheGreek]

LeBRON TO NJ, SPREAD THE WORD!

[UCFJayBird]

yea seriously, have you ever had a personal conversation with the guy? You're going based off a few quotes and you're being very judgemental.

Is wanting to be the first billionaire athlete such a bad thing? So he wants to be successful and has set the ceiling high.

By the way, why don't you go look up how much money Lebron gives to charity, and then weigh it against yourself. How about all the time he puts into the community? How many hours does he spend going to local charity events, or going to see sick kids?

People forget how much these athletes give back. I'm not saying they should get a free pass if they're jerks or selfish and what not. But let's not cast judgement on a guy just because he wants to be a billionaire. I'd like to be a billionaire too, does that make me shallow?

Dwight once said he wants to be the greatest of all time. What a jackass!

[theTHIEF]

Tiger Woods is about a year or 2 away from being the first Billion Dollar athlete, so good luck to James...

[magicfan4life05]

[N4U|Redux]

Doesn't really matter how much money they give back, there is no logical reason that Lebron makes so much more money than a guy like the president (even if he is a moron).

At least rich entrepreneurs often do something useful (i.e. Steve Jobs of Apple) which contributes to society. Lebron does nothing but entertain and gets more money than most groups of people make in a lifetime. It's absurd.

Anyway, I didn't get to read the original post since taruky made it to my ignore list, but from what I see of the quote, and the general vibe of the thread, yes, it is pretty stupid to judge people you do not actually know.

[RawTalent]

dwight's not the best ever? where have i been?

[taruky1]

yea seriously, have you ever had a personal conversation with the guy? You're going based off a few quotes and you're being very judgemental.

Is wanting to be the first billionaire athlete such a bad thing? So he wants to be successful and has set the ceiling high.

By the way, why don't you go look up how much money Lebron gives to charity, and then weigh it against yourself. How about all the time he puts into the community? How many hours does he spend going to local charity events, or going to see sick kids?

People forget how much these athletes give back. I'm not saying they should get a free pass if they're jerks or selfish and what not. But let's not cast judgement on a guy just because he wants to be a billionaire. I'd like to be a billionaire too, does that make me shallow?

Dwight once said he wants to be the greatest of all time. What a jackass!

If you cannot see the difference between striving to be the best you can in your profession and striving to hit the billion dollar mark in earnings, then I feel sorry for you. And if becoming a billionaire is your main goal in life, I feel even more sorry for you.

As far as his "charitable" acts, you know as well as I do that athletes have requirements to read to elementary school kids, etc. It goes with the territory, and if anything, adds to their earnings ultimately. There are some athletes who go above and beyond their duties.

LeBron showed he was a greedy shallow twit when he bought his Hummer in high school.

[theTHIEF]

did he "buy" that hummer? I thought that was in question...

[Last Guardian]

I find Lebron James to be cocky, shallow and greedy, but one hell of a model american.

[mhectorgato]

I thought that "greed is good"...

[thepritz]

i will say lebron can be cocky at times.. but the man is the best... before his time is done he will have his fair share of rings and will average a triple double... and not a jason kid 10 10 10.... but 30 12 12... hes not that far away.. who cares if he wants to be a billionaire? hes gonna produce on the court and thats his job.

if lebron was in orlando this thread never would have started.

[DrunkOnMystery]

First of all, LeBron works multiple jobs. That may sound trite when phrased that way, and may come across as disrespectful to others who work far lower paying multiple jobs, but that doesn't make it less true.

Pro athletes, especially superstars, are a brand, and that brand has marketable value. When LeBron sells that brand to a shoe company, a phone company, or anything else, he's making a business decision to trade the value of his social identity and it's name recognition and respect for a money value. This is a risk he takes, because if LeBron endorses a watch that later proves to cause cancer, the LeBron brand's value will plummet.

So your left with a situation where LeBron, and athletes like him, are not only professional athletes, they're also "stock" traders, models, spokesmen, and ambassadors to their respective teams and the league as a whole. Do you think the NBA doesn't profit from LeBron being in the league? Do you think the Cavs pay him more money than he brings back in, both directly and indirectly?

As for your argument that it's not right that he makes more money than the President, that's been a truth since ancient Greece. The Greek Olympians were treated like heroes, supported by the government, and often above the law. Not to mention that even in America, rich capitalists have always made more money than politicians(at least honest politicians). Christ, Carnegie lent the US government money at one point to keep it from going bankrupt.

[AdamTheGreek]

LeBron is probably f*cking Beyonce, that's why he's all buddy-buddy with Jay-Z.

[karizma87]

you seen lebron's wife? UGH

[taruky1]

i will say lebron can be cocky at times.. but the man is the best... before his time is done he will have his fair share of rings and will average a triple double... and not a jason kid 10 10 10.... but 30 12 12... hes not that far away.. who cares if he wants to be a billionaire? hes gonna produce on the court and thats his job.

if lebron was in orlando this thread never would have started.

If Hedo Turkoglu ever publicly said one of his goals was to become a billionaire, I'd rip him too. It really all boils down to how sick society is that we idolize people who are entertainers (Hollywood or sports), when they really do little to nothing for society. The peanuts they give back are more than offset by the wasted time and money society gives to them. It's kind of like an addictive drug, you start using it and THEN you need it.

So how exactly does $1 billion improve LeBron's or ANYONE's life any more than $500 million? Just to say "Hey, I've got a billion"? So is he going to work extra hard endorsing products kids can't afford or shouldn't be consuming because it's not good for them? Step back for a moment and look at the absurdity of it.

I realize that the greed is on all levels in sports, not just the athletes. But LeBron's statement is beyond wanting to live comfortbaly, it says that money is the end-all in life. And to me, that is shallow.

[orl1724]

I find Lebron James to be cocky, shallow and greedy, but one hell of a model american.

[flyingvee]

When LeBron rushes into a burning building to save a victim then you can talk about him makng a contribution to society. Or getting blown to bits in Iraq for your country. Those guys get paid squat. I have no sympathy whatsoever for athetes making the money they do for playing a sport, and playing it much worse than guys did 15 years ago. It's just a game.

By the way. The Cavs just released LeBron. Otis says we don't need him.