This is kind of amusing in a sad sort of way. Who knew that a dunk in a game that LeBron James wasn't even a part of could have created such a backlash against him? For his part, LeBron says that he won't apologize.
LeBron James won't apologize to Kendrick Perkins, tired of blame game - ESPN
"Did I call him out? I mean, did you read the tweet? Did I call him out? I can see why he felt embarrassed. I don't think I was the only one to react to the unbelievable play by Blake and that's what it was all about," James said after the Miami Heat's 102-89 loss to the Orlando Magic on Wednesday night. "Now, if Kendrick Perkins dunked on somebody like that on the other end, I would have done the same thing," James said. "If Perkins dunked on Blake Griffin or DeAndre Jordan or whatever the case may be, it would be the same thing. That's just my love for the game and connecting with my fans."
Then he takes the defensiveness up another notch.
"I'm an easy target; if someone wants to get a point across -- just throw Lebron's name in there," James said. "You could be watching cartoons with your kids and you don't like it, you say, 'Blame it on LeBron.' If you go to the grocery store and they don't have the milk that you like, you just say, 'It's LeBron's fault.' "
In a way he is stating the truth. He is an easy target. But complaining about it, especially when he put himself in that position, only makes the situation worse. On one level, you almost have to feel bad for him. He's kind of reached that Alex Rodriguez status where he might be the best player in the game but there's not a ton of respect for him because of the things he does and how he carries himself. Not to mention the penchant for choking in the clutch. (I did say that I "almost" feel bad for him... just not quite)
0 recs | 44 comments
This sport is taking more and more steps towards the direction of the WWF…please go back to consistent officiating, players who are
more concerned with playing than talking, and thing worth advertising the most is the game play not the drama.
kurtgiessler - February 9, 2012 via mobile
Believe it or not...
Drama and storylines makes this league that much better. How do you think they’ve been able to gain more viewers over the past year or so. If everybody acts thesame, it’s a boring league. We need heroes and villains and Lebron’s taking the villain’s role perfectly. It’s him and that’s his character as a person, but you can’t deny the fact that it provides for an interesting league and basketball
Clench - February 9, 2012
I get the feeling he hates being the villain, though.
green18, 19, 20... - February 9, 2012
Jerk
Big_Easy - February 9, 2012 via mobile
Well just shut up.
What was that game where after Wade scored a basket to win a ballgame, he acted like he was opening his jacket and mimicked turning into Superman? Behind Wade was Lebron doing the same after seeing Wade
Sums up lebron pretty much…. a SIDEKICK void of identity that he has to first see what Wade does then does the same thing.
LarryBird33 - February 9, 2012
What did I just read?
“I’m an easy target; if someone wants to get a point across — just throw Lebron’s name in there,” James said. "You could be watching cartoons with your kids and you don’t like it, you say, ‘Blame it on LeBron.’ If you go to the grocery store and they don’t have the milk that you like, you just say, ’It’s LeBron’s fault.’ "
Seriously?
relja111 - February 9, 2012
"MY EGO IS SO BIG EVEN I MYSELF AM IN AWE OF IT!"
- translation of just everything Lebron said there …
mmmmm - February 9, 2012
Unstable Euro
Lebron’s fault
vgarcia890 - February 9, 2012
There are winners, and there are whiners - LBJ is in my collection of the latter.
lygafe - February 9, 2012
Stop Hatin
Perkins needs to shut up. If any other player did this no one would care.
Bron’ is completely right. He is a target. doesn’t matter what he does, he’s completely unforgivable for leaving that shitty situation in Cleveland after giving them his heart and soul for 8 years.
Perk is being a whiney bitch and Lebron is defending himself. Why should he have to explain a stupid tweet about an awesome dunk.
It was just as he said it was – a great dunk on Kendrick Perkins.
Why all the BS afterwards like Perkins is a victim and Lebron is a villain?
Gets so old people just hating because they love to.
Chambers - February 9, 2012
Lebron is a target because he makes himself a target.
Call it an act or whatever, Lebron has honed his public personal of ‘douchebag egotist’ to a remarkably high level.
So people remark on it.
And get your events in order. Lebron DID start the sequence by publicly dissing on Perk in a way that was completely unnecessary. If he wanted to just “tweet about an awesome dunk” then all he had to do was give credit to Griffin. But he pathetically just couldn’t resist also inserting his own ego into it (“I guess I’m No. 2 now.”).
mmmmm - February 9, 2012
Who cares...
LeBitch will never win a ring anyways.
SparzWizard - February 9, 2012
well
Perk wasn’t really whining about the dunk itself. He was just pointing out the fact that players who care about the game more than the highlights won’t be on social media congratulating a single play.
greysoul0614 - February 9, 2012
LeBron put himself in the middle of this nothing story for attention.
Now that he gets attention, but it’s not the kind he wants, he complains and whines about being a victim.
You may be a fan of the Heat, but you’re blinders are massive if you can’t see that Bron is just an immature young man always seeking attention and validation.
Wicklow - February 9, 2012
Must be a Heat fan, so it's understandable.
SparzWizard - February 9, 2012
Waaaaahhhhhh!!!!
The poor victim!!!!
But he is right about something…IT IS LEBRON’S FAULT!!! He brought all of this on himself with his very public, ego maniacal behavior. Not shedding any tears over here…
joeb - February 9, 2012
Why is Perk commenting on other players' tweets?
Look, I know people hate LeBron and he brought a lot of that on himself, but he’s right about this. He doesn’t need to apologize to Perk because he tweeted about a dunk. Twitter was blowing UP after that dunk. LeBron can be a fan on his off-night just as everybody else is. Just because he was impressed by that dunk doesn’t mean he isn’t focused on winning a championship. Turn the tables – if Perk is so focused on winning, stop reading about LeBron’s tweets. He’s in a different conference. Worry about him in the finals.
djLaysItIn - February 9, 2012
Do you suppose that it's just possible
that a zillion reporters are actually the ones who were reading Lebron’s tweets …. and then shoving questions about it into Perkins’ face?
mmmmm - February 9, 2012
Do you suppose that it's just possible
that Perk could have said “I’m not worried about LeBron’s tweets. I’m just focused on OKC basketball and winning a championship”? And, for the record, this was a one-on-one interview with Marc Spears, hardly what you describe as “a zillion reporters” in his face.
djLaysItIn - February 9, 2012
So, you know for a fact that no other reporters had asked him about it earlier?
mmmmm - February 9, 2012
Where did I say that? That post must have been deleted.
I stated the fact that Perk’s quote came from a one-on-one interview. I doubt that zillions of people are clamoring about LeBron’s tweet to Perk, though I haven’t seen every single Perk interview any more than you can claim to name a single instance to the counter. Though that onus would be on you, since you are the one that brought it up. The point remains: Perk is putting himself in a similar situation by reacting to it. If you say someone should focus on winning, then focus on winning. He obviously let it affect him, even if it was just for that one interview. He handled the actual dunk like the Perk we know and love. Let LeBron and the media worry about LeBron.
djLaysItIn - February 9, 2012
I'm just asking a question inspired by your assertion that he is "reading about LeBron's tweats".
(when you implore him to stop doing so):
The vid of the dunk went all over. It is a reasonable guess that at least a fair number of reporters DO follow Lebron’s tweets. Is it an unreasonable assumption that maybe, just maybe one or more of them brought it to Perk’s attention? Call me crazy, but it just sorta seems like the kinda thing they do.
mmmmm - February 9, 2012
Perhaps
but you are focusing on whether or not I’m assuming he read them, heard about them, was asked about them, whatever. My heading said he was commenting on it, however it was brought up. I don’t know if he ever read them, you’re right. Still, I will concede the point (if it is, indeed, the one you want to make) that this wasn’t the first time he was asked about it (as if that matters). However, I will say again, my point is – don’t give it credence. I’m not imploring him to “stop reading tweets”. I’m imploring him not to turn himself into a hypocrite by commenting on a tweet by an opposing player and saying where his focus should be. Also, Perk says Kobe doesn’t tweet, Jordan doesn’t tweet. An interesting fact that he might want to consider before deciding NOT to take the high road and, again, say “My concern is OKC basketball, not LeBron’s tweeting habits”:
Teammate Kevin Durant’s Tweets: 20,731
LeBron’s Tweets: 2,372
djLaysItIn - February 9, 2012
I'm generally a fan of players not saying a damn thing about other players, so I certainly agree with you
that the best comment is usually ‘no comment’.
But I also know that these guys get asked questions and often have to say something in response, especially in an interview. And I don’t hold them to too high a standard when it comes to public speaking & relations – they are basketball players.
Tweeting, though, is not something you do in response to a reporter’s question in an interview. It is something you elect to do.
I don’t have a particular problem with the fact that players tweet – heck, lots of Celtics tweet. But the fact is that when you tweet, it is YOU that is electing to say something and so you are fully responsible if you look like a douchebag.
I’m a little more forgiving when a player is responding to questions by a reporter. Those responses are almost always off the cuff and not well informed. Perk – apparently not much of a Twitter guy – was probably not at all aware of Durant’s tweet stats. So his comment doesn’t make him a hypocrite. It means he was not fully informed at the time he made his comment. He would now be a hipocrite if he didn’t amend his position slightly in light of that info.
Key point remains, he was responding to something that Lebron elected to post publicly. Sure, the high road would have been to say, “no comment”. And sure, his own words don’t stand up to full critical scrutiny in the light of his own teammate’s tweet numbers. But the fact is he was just responding. He could have expressed the same message with different words and avoided falling into the hypocrisy trap, but hey – he’s not expected to be a champion of rhetoric.
mmmmm - February 9, 2012
First thing I think of when I think about Lebron...
is his love for the game and his connection with the fans.
Really. First two things…
For real…
No.
Not really. Not at all.
IanMello - February 9, 2012
Yep
Notice how you wrote “connection with the fans” where James says “connection with MY fans”. He is a great player but an out of touch, uneducated, clueless brat. He connects well with some people (the same people that watch Jersey Shore) but the general public hates the fact that he doesn’t get it and doesn’t even try.
AussieGreen - February 9, 2012
Just adds fuel to the fire...
to the “we hate LeBron” club just eats this type of egotistical stuff up.
LeBron was dumb for tweeting about it, the way he did, in the first place. Hey LeBron, why are you mentioning yourself when trying to compliment others anyway? Seems kind of self-centered to me (just like everything else he says).
I’m upset that Perk even reacted to it, but he had a point. Albeit that while making the point he was being a bit hypocritical. Perk, just worry about your own team and winning…you know, like, exactly what you were upset at LeBron for.
And why is it that LeBron just can’t seem to help himself and has to respond? Why make this a public argument? It’s making both of you look terrible! Oh, and your the victim here LeBron? That’s rich… exactly how many zeros are on your paychecks? Yeah, I feel really bad for you…that must be the worst.
I just hope that Perk is strong enough to end this back and forth, he would be the bigger man if he did. But if he does or doesn’t I’m sure there will be countless other times where LeBron puts his foot in his mouth.
green18, 19, 20... - February 9, 2012
This is a pretty fair summary.
mmmmm - February 9, 2012
LeBron's new tweet
“Player of the Year! @DwyaneWade just awesome!!! Wow! I guess I’m No. 2 now. Move over #6,”
KG took you lunch money - February 9, 2012
It reminds me of
That Southpark episode with Bono in it wanting to be number 1 at everything but actually being a giant number 2.
AussieGreen - February 9, 2012
LeBron and ARod - Bosom Buddies!
A good correlation to this LeBron nonsense is ARod in baseball.
I live in NY (as a Red Sox fan), and all my Yankees friends openly admit they don’t like ARod the man, though they’ll take ARod the player. Defend LeBron the player all you want, but you cannot defend LeBron the man, because he isn’t yet a man.
ARod and LeBron are one in the same – whiny, petulant little children seeking attention and glorification. But the more they seek it and the more they demand it, the more people turn away from them.
The problem is that when LeBron eventually wins a title (which he will), he’ll think that everything he’s done has been validated, but it won’t be, and he’ll never understand that.
Wicklow - February 9, 2012
Points well made- LBJ like D. Howard is still a man-child. They crave positive attention.
lygafe - February 9, 2012
Saddest thing
is that there is actually having a discussion about ’his highness" on a Celtic blog. Not worth the time
P stoff - February 9, 2012
+1.
And to think, fans were clamoring two years ago for Danny to make a push to get Bron to Boston. Ugh! Same crap now about luring Howard.
There are great players, then there are great players who play the game right. And, I’m speaking of the entire game (“life”). Bron and Howard are not that type of great player.
The exact same reason I never wanted ARod in Boston.
Wicklow - February 9, 2012
Pompous A** "king nothing"
ChickieBoomBoom - February 9, 2012 via mobile
+100
While i often state that changes need to be made to the Celts— i always have appreciated the attitude and committment from the “stars”. That will be hard to replace.
P stoff - February 9, 2012
a bunch of grown men
hating a 26 year old kid because of what he tweeted what are we in high school again? can we please focus on our team, our teams news and what the Celtics can do to get better not worry about lebron james and his twitter?
JuJuan some moore - February 9, 2012
No actually
He’s a 27 year old man that behaves like a 17 year old thats in high school.
AussieGreen - February 9, 2012
+1
Haha, so true!
green18, 19, 20... - February 9, 2012
Sick of Lebron coverage
It’s bad enough that every game on ESPN, I must hear Van Gundy ride Lebron’s jockstrap and declare him and the Heat (for the second year in a row), champions before the season even begins. It’s bad enough that sports highlights include Lebron’s play after play even when his team loses. But now, I come on the Celtics’ blog and what do I find: an article about Lebron tweeting about a drunk? Really? What’s next? Are we going to cover a case of Lebron’s athletes foot?
CelticsFan616 - February 9, 2012
hes right
perk was kinda embarrased and lebron diddnt do anything to warrant anger. I am not a lebron fan but he is nowhere near alex rodriguez on the gross out stage.
ianboyextreme - February 9, 2012
LeBitch James is being a whiny crybaby again putting himself in the center of attention LOL!!
Win a ring, then you can start barking.
Kobe is still better than you.
Celtics still better than you.
Nuff said.
SparzWizard - February 9, 2012
Hello Humility !
this is the problem with out of highschool blue chip players. they lack humility since they are showered with money even before they have the chance to do their own laundry.
it’s all about them and how it is not their fault when everything around them doesn’t work inspite of getting millions of dollars. Respect is the Ultimate currency. it would take more than what Lebron is making before he could pay off everyone in the world to say that he is a great person.
Aris Yalung - February 9, 2012
This is much ado about nothing. If it was anyone else, nobody would be saying anything. But it’s Lebron so everyone gets upset over it.
slamdunk1 - February 9, 2012
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