Wow, Lebron James sure doesn't get it

[WaylonJennings]

Mini-Kobe Bryant controversy going on. Ad in SI apparently this week featuring the two players where Kobe says he doesn't leave anything on the court, "nothing in the chamber" or something along those lines.

http://sports.espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/news/story?id=4869984

Kobe apologizes and says the ad is inappropriate, in hindsight, and a mistake. Lebron, on the other hand, well, read:

James defended Bryant, saying the words were taken out of context.

"That has nothing, zero, to do with guns," James said, raising his voice at reporters. "At all. At all. Zero. That's very simple. For somebody to even say that -- that's a basketball term. To try to highlight Kobe and say that he was referencing guns is totally ridiculous."

James said such slang is common among his peers.

"We say a lot of things as basketball players that make a reference to guns and violence, but it's really not guns and violence," he said.

 

[93Devil]

Eh, he'll just get lynched in the playoffs again. :)

 

[spnited]

Eh, he'll just get lynched in the playoffs again. :)

Or maybe he'll shoot the lights out.

 

[Double Down]

I think LeBron has a legit point. Just for once, it would be nice if the controversy de jour didn't get exploited by stupid people for stupid reasons.

 

[93Devil]

Dallas has a hell of a shotgun with a QB that has a cannon for an arm.

Why am I thinking of George Carlin right now?

 

[DanOregon]

It's not LeBron's fault that a couple of knuckleheads brought guns into the locker room. Are sports writers supposed to stop using Pistol Pete's nickname or use the terms three-point sharpshooter or a half court bomb?

 

[heyabbott]

I think LeBron has a legit point. Just for once, it would be nice if the controversy de jour didn't get exploited by stupid people for stupid reasons.

edited for the hard truth

 

[Second Thoughts]

It's mainly a case of terrible timing of the ad. Otherwise, no one would have said anything. Unless, someone had just killed 30 people somewhere and was quoted with "I left nothing in the chamber" afterward.

Even so, Nike should sit on it for a while. Stern probably choked on his caviar when he heard.

 

[cranberry]

Big deal. Lebron's way past the maturity level I had at his age.

 

[WaylonJennings]

I'm sorry, but this is a dumbass thing to say:

"We say a lot of things as basketball players that make a reference to guns and violence."

Not just post-Arenas, but any time.

 

[RickStain]

It's part of sports. The metaphors between athletics and violence are pretty obvious, and there was nothing wrong with what was said.

 

[WaylonJennings]

It's part of sports. The metaphors between athletics and violence are pretty obvious, and there was nothing wrong with what was said.

At the very least, it was awkwardly phrased by a smart guy.

 

[TheSportsPredictor]

The Oklahoma City Thunder don't get it either!

OKLAHOMA CITY, Tuesday, January 27, 2009 – The Oklahoma City Thunder will host the first annual Guns N’ Hoses night at the Ford Center on Wednesday, Jan. 28 before and during the matchup with the Memphis Grizzles at 7p.m.

 

[Den1983]

It's part of sports. The metaphors between athletics and violence are pretty obvious, and there was nothing wrong with what was said.

Ditto. Not even thread-worthy, IMO. LeBron is right and I'm glad he didn't go the PC route. Nothing to apologize for.

 

[Double Down]

It's part of sports. The metaphors between athletics and violence are pretty obvious, and there was nothing wrong with what was said.

At the very least, it was awkwardly phrased by a smart guy.

It's phony outrage for phony reasons.

OH NOES! In a post-Arenas world, we all have to watch what we say!

The Nike ad will have zero, absolutely zero, affect on anyone's views on guns or gunplay or stupid wanna be gangsta posturing.

 

[old_tony]

It's part of sports. The metaphors between athletics and violence are pretty obvious, and there was nothing wrong with what was said.

At the very least, it was awkwardly phrased by a smart guy.

It's phony outrage for phony reasons.

OH NOES! In a post-Arenas world, we all have to watch what we say!

The Nike ad will have zero, absolutely zero, affect on anyone's views on guns or gunplay or stupid wanna be gangsta posturing.

Absolutely.

The people making a big deal about this are the same people who think the changing of "Bullets" to "Wizards" saved some lives.

 

[WaylonJennings]

To be clear, the ad doesn't bother me as much as the following quote, which I thought was tone deaf:

"We say a lot of things as basketball players that make a reference to guns and violence."

 

[old_tony]

To be clear, the ad doesn't bother me as much as the following quote, which I thought was tone deaf:

"We say a lot of things as basketball players that make a reference to guns and violence."

It's the truth, though. In fact, he could have simply dropped the "as basketball players" part. Every American uses phases and terms that have their foundation in guns and shooting. Does the Arenas incident suddenly make those expressions off limits if you're an NBA player?

 

[Double Down]

Ad copy writer: Why do you keep shooting down all my ideas?

Boss: How dare you speak like that in the wake of the Gilbert Arenas incident?

 

[RickStain]

Ad copy writer: Why do you keep shooting down all my ideas?

Boss: How dare you speak like that in the wake of the Gilbert Arenas incident?

Given the number of boating tragedies in human history, I'm not fond of 'in the wake' either.