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Manute Lol wrote:

ItsThatEasy wrote:

Mylie10 wrote:I know its just me, but I don't care for players or entertainers getting to political. Of course it depends on the issue, but for the most part, I'd rather they just stick to the games.

Funny how people said the same about Ali during his career and now he's viewed as a national hero.

Bringing visibility to social injustice has no downside.

It did for Ali, who went to prison for his beliefs. Comparing LeBron to Ali just shows your lack of historical perspective. LeBron's desultory comments on social issues are less than insignificant compared to Ali's.

You can only respond to the climate you're currently in. I have no doubts LeBron would do the same had he been a prominent athlete during Ali's era.

shawn_hemp wrote:
Charities are really just a way to not have to pay as much taxes.

To respond to OP, at this rate he'll be the most influential athlete of all time.

I'm not sure why people are so impressed with his finals record.

It's nice he's made it a bunch of times, but it's like playing scratch off tickets...buy a bunch, win a few.

Now a guy who wins every scratch off ticket he gets his hands on, that impresses me more.

20 years from now lebron will probably own multiple sports franchises and will be in the conversation for wealthiest african american. Will also prob end up as the being the most charitable athlete/ex-athlete (definitely the most charitable NBA player already). Not bad for a kid from Akron.

shawn_hemp wrote:

ItsThatEasy wrote:

Mylie10 wrote:I know its just me, but I don't care for players or entertainers getting to political. Of course it depends on the issue, but for the most part, I'd rather they just stick to the games.

Funny how people said the same about Ali during his career and now he's viewed as a national hero.

Bringing visibility to social injustice has no downside.

Wrong or right you start a dialogue and people are forced to talk about things they otherwise wouldn't.

That's the gist of my stance in a way.

Ali actually had real social injustices to complain about.

I'm in the group that would proclaim that the current generation of athletes, do not.

But whatever keeps their name in the press right?

You truly believe LeBron James speaks up for what he believes in to keep his name in the press?

lol ok dude

shawn_hemp wrote:LeBron hit the genetic jackpot though

I don't like how he feels the need to be more than a basketball player.

But I also don't see athletes as role models because you don't know them on a personal level.

A lot of Athletes hit the genetic lottery and how many of them are broke? Mike Tyson make like 200 million buck back in the 90s and he is broke. Even Tim Duncan lost a chunk of money to "Advisors."

bigpimpatl wrote:

shawn_hemp wrote:
Charities are really just a way to not have to pay as much taxes.

To respond to OP, at this rate he'll be the most influential athlete of all time.

I am not a Lebron fan at all. But what he's done for the community in Cleveland, in his businesses and even sometimes taking political stances I really appreciate what he's done. Too many times celebrities or athletes take the stance of just doing work and making money and not using their status to influence good. It seems like Lebron understands that he could use his influence to better those regardless what his intentions are. For that he is doing amazing.

The most influential athlete of all time? No. Muhammad Ali was hands down the most influential. To this day he is a hero, even to those who don't even watch or care about boxing. What Muhammad Ali did in a time where social justice was needed he did.

A guy in this thread actually claimed that LeBron "tries" to empower impoverished youth, as if there's something wrong with that.

ItsThatEasy wrote:

shawn_hemp wrote:I'm not a fan of LeBron off the court to be honest.

He tries to act like some racial social justice warrior who defied the odds and now empowers young impoverished youth to do the same when in reality he won the genetic lottery and was driving an Escalade in high school because he can control a round object that much better than everyone else.

Charities are really just a way to not have to pay as much taxes. Sure, they help people, but they help the donors as well.

So what about the impoverished youth who actually do feel empowered by him?

They should not feel empowered anymore?

Taking that further, to this day hasn't he put forth +$42 million towards paying for full rides for college for Ohio youths?

A nerve has truly been hit.

I was one of those kids from a poor neighborhood who felt inspired by Magic Johnson's success and efforts in the community. I could care less if it was contrived or not, it kept me inspired to succeed.

My opinion on this isn't a popular one, I get that.

It's hard to argue against helping kids, and that's not what I'm trying to say at all.

I'm trying to say that he uses all of his good deeds as a way to give credence to his stances on perceived "injustices" suffered by a certain demographic in the US when all I am trying to say is that a lot of that is overblown. Everyone is protesting these days, does anyone know why? Because a few people got shot by police? How about this, every time a police officer is shot and killed lets congregate in large groups for extended periods of time because nobody has to get to work anyway and scream and shout until it gets too cold out for us to want to continue

I'm not saying anything more on this, it has nothing to do with basketball.

Manute Lol wrote:

bmurph128 wrote:

Manute Lol wrote:How many pairs of LeBron's game worn underoos do you own, guy?

Lol is that an appropriate response? It's nice to see a thread talking about how incredible a human being LeBron is rather than bashing him for something. But I guess you had to be "that guy"..

Your standards for what constitutes an "incredible" human being are depressingly low.

Or perhaps your standards for the average joe are astronomically high. Remember, he doesn't have to put down a single copper penny into philanthropic acts, and yet he puts in millions. I'm sorry, I can't marginalize the act of sending kids through college. Takes an incredible person to do that, in my opinion.

shawn_hemp wrote:My opinion on this isn't a popular one, I get that.

It's hard to argue against helping kids, and that's not what I'm trying to say at all.

I'm trying to say that he uses all of his good deeds as a way to give credence to his stances on perceived "injustices" suffered by a certain demographic in the US when all I am trying to say is that a lot of that is overblown. Everyone is protesting these days, does anyone know why? Because a few people got shot by police? How about this, every time a police officer is shot and killed lets congregate in large groups for extended periods of time because nobody has to get to work anyway and scream and shout until it gets too cold out for us to want to continue

I'm not saying anything more on this, it has nothing to do with basketball.

I was going to engage you in the conversation but your private messages are disabled. There's a lot you could learn about this entire topic though if you were actually open to that.

Harcore Fenton Mun wrote:I'm not sure why people are so impressed with his finals record.

It's nice he's made it a bunch of times, but it's like playing scratch off tickets...buy a bunch, win a few.

Now a guy who wins every scratch off ticket he gets his hands on, that impresses me more.

Everyone in the NBA gets an opportunity to win a championship every season, so the only way a player will have more tickets than another is by playing for more seasons.

bushybrah_ wrote:As much as I hated him for leaving the Heat, I can't deny he's one of the GOATs and truly appreciate everything he's done for the game. Doesn't hurt to say he played for and helped bring my city 2 titles.


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How can you hate him for leaving when he literally did that to get to you in the first place.

YogurtProducer wrote:

bushybrah_ wrote:As much as I hated him for leaving the Heat, I can't deny he's one of the GOATs and truly appreciate everything he's done for the game. Doesn't hurt to say he played for and helped bring my city 2 titles.


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How can you hate him for leaving when he literally did that to get to you in the first place.

Because I'm a sports fan and I want what's best for my team? Lol


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evitcanI wrote:

Harcore Fenton Mun wrote:I'm not sure why people are so impressed with his finals record.

It's nice he's made it a bunch of times, but it's like playing scratch off tickets...buy a bunch, win a few.

Now a guy who wins every scratch off ticket he gets his hands on, that impresses me more.

Everyone in the NBA gets an opportunity to win a championship every season, so the only way a player will have more tickets than another is by playing for more seasons.

The east has been a cake walk for him since they blew up that Boston team.

It's definitely not the same as comming out of the west now or the east when Jordan was playing.

It's like he gets to the finals by default at this point...meh.

Manute Lol wrote:

bmurph128 wrote:

Manute Lol wrote:How many pairs of LeBron's game worn underoos do you own, guy?

Lol is that an appropriate response? It's nice to see a thread talking about how incredible a human being LeBron is rather than bashing him for something. But I guess you had to be "that guy"..

Your standards for what constitutes an "incredible" human being are depressingly low. LeBron seems a decent enough fellow, and I can even forgive him for being a shameless egoist because he is correct about his status as the best basketball player on the planet, but let's not pretend that there's anything exceptional about him besides the fact that he's really good at basketball and really rich. He's not Kareem, or Bill Walton, or Pop. Every time he opens his mouth about non-basketball-related matters what comes out is mind-numbingly uninteresting.

What? First of all, criticizing someone for their standards for what constitutes an incredible human being is childish.

"Seems a decent enough fellow"..

What makes him exceptional is what he does compared to his peers. Few, if any, pro athletes come close to what the OP outlined. That makes him exceptional off the court. Mind numbingly uninteresting to you - but then you seem to have a bias so that makes sense. He may not be like those guys you mentioned, but in some way he exceeds some of the things they've done. Before the espys he stood up with DWade, Melo and Paul and sent a message that sorely needed to be sent. He uses his platform in a tremendous way and if you are choosing not to see that, I feel bad for you.

bigpimpatl wrote:

shawn_hemp wrote:
Charities are really just a way to not have to pay as much taxes.

To respond to OP, at this rate he'll be the most influential athlete of all time.

He will never be more influential than Jackie Robinson, ever, under any circumstance.

shawn_hemp wrote: Everyone is protesting these days, does anyone know why? Because a few people got shot by police?

Because people with certain ethnic backgrounds feel that they're viewed with disdain by a large segment of the population, and that their lives and interests are undervalued. When innocent or not actively threatening black people are shot by police, and the police officers face no serious repercussions, they perceive it as confirmation that their lives are undervalued. They believe that if the victims were white that those kinds of incidents would spark public outrage and lead to reforms.

How about this, every time a police officer is shot and killed lets congregate in large groups for extended periods of time

We make a huge deal out of it when police officers are killed. All available resources are put into catching the perpetrators, and once caught, they face the most serious possible repercussions.