Lebron James...

[QueenBee]

http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/sports/4959547.htm

 

http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/sports/4959519.htm

[gomab2]

Cobrafan, you are waaaaaaay off here....

 

You actually think that with the Rookie cap, LeBron and mom may not be able to afford the hummer???? What???? LeBron will probably make around $25 million just through a shoe company (likely Adidas)....

 

LeBron is confident, not arrogant. An arrogant person would not have taken the kid under his wing. An arrogant person would not be such an unselfish individual....

 

The loan is legal.... let the kid enjoy himself, because everyone is enjoying him.....

[jmourning]

Darko Milicic, a 7-0 pf with pg skills from Europe who will be the 2nd pick of the 2003 draft, is two months younger than Lebron James. Yet, he is even more arrogant that Lebron. However, I'm sure people will let him by with it since he is from Europe.

 

I hate it when people say that Kobe is arrogant. Kobe is very confident and plays with arrogance, yet he doesn't explicitly make arrogant statements like Lebron James, Darko Milicic, or Tracy McGrady. I think Kobe has the right kind of confidence. He doesn't give the other team bulletin board material yet he absolutely knows that he is better than anybody he plays against. You can see it in his eyes. He knows that he is the best and has proven it over the last 3 years.

 

I like all four of those guys, and wish the best for Darko Milicic and Lebron James. However, make sure that you don't treat Lebron the same way you treat Milicic. I guarantee you that he is every bit as arrogant if not more so from everything I've read about him including interviews.

[Edited by jmourning on 1-16-03 2:54P]

 

[QueenBee]

I feel sorry for Lebron James...he's achieved all these wonderful feats...he's going to make lots and lots of money...more than most of us will ever see...but...he's not had a childhood...and he's been exploited...and will continue to be exploited...I can forgive some of the things he has said and done...because he is a kid...and kids do silly things...

 

BUT...what was his mother thinking???...I've always said that the kid should never drive a better vehicle than the parent... to take a loan out for a vehicle for a kid to me is ludicrous...but to pay so much...and have to borrow it...makes absolutely NO sense to me...I'm just hoping for his sake...and hers...that she isn't taking financial advice from Lebron's "godfather"...the one that has spent time in jail for fraudulant financial dealings....Lebron and his mother don't live in the projects...but it must be a real kick to park that Hummer in the apartment parking lot...

 

WHAT was his coach thinking...when he allowed him to play with a remote controlled Hummer before a game...knowing that the authorities are looking into this matter...why the slap in the face of the rules???...If there is any question at all about something...don't go public with such an act...

 

YES...it was a touching gesture on Lebron's part to put his arm around the little guy who has lost everything...and to say that he was his new "little man"...almost brought a tear to my eye...but...I'm reserving that tear...til Lebron gets his big contract and buys that family a home...takes that "little man" in...makes sure he gets an education...makes sure he doesn't get exploited...that's when I'll believe that Lebron did learn something...that it's ok for a kid to pass on an education for money...that it's ok for adults to allow this to happen...and that it's ok for an 18 year old kid to drive a Hummer to school...in downtown Akron, Ohio...

[gomabsilk]

Stan Trott,

When the game is over Lebron James will be able to take care of himself, you, your kids, and grandkids. Thats a senseless statement. I bet you said the same thing about Magic Johnson when he left college early. I wonder who is taking care of him now-his game is over!!!

[gomabsilk]

CobraFan,

Those are all assumptions. I can say LeBron James will be able to handle his money the same way you are saying he will not. If LeBron James was leaving high school to go work at 80hrs/wk at KFC no one would care about him trying to make a living right out of high school. People that are making a big deal about how soon he is wanting to make his money, how he his wanting to make his money, and how he and his mother are spending his money are all HATERS!!! Also, you do not know if he is going to attend college, you dont know him!!! If he doesnt attend college, so what!!! Believe me, Lebron James is not trying to be a doctor...why would he?

[CHHS72]

Now Coach read what I wrote in context of what some others had written. They seemed to be saying that it did not matter how or why he got the vehicle he should still be able to play high school ball. With that I cannot agree. I do not know if the young man is guilty of breaking the rules, but there is an awful lot of smoke. What is the bank going to do if he is killed before he signs that big contract, a la Len Bias (Sp?)? Banks do not usually make loans based on what might happen. They make loans based on what has been and what is.

 

You even indicated on another thread on the same subject, "LeBon James," that the question is his amateur status. I agree. No laws have been broken, but the only way I can see that his amateur status is not in danger is if his family can afford to purchase the $100,000.00 automobile either with cash or a stright by the book loan. In other words with the same qualifications as anyone else. Any preferences because his has fame as an athlete and he has broken the rule. Ask you wife's uncle about the banking rules. They do not loan money to people that do not have money. That includes business loans where there is an expectation of profit to pay the loan back.

 

I have not passed judgement yet. It is just hard for me to see his innocence for all the smoke. Maybe when it clears it will be different.

[Edited by CHHS72 on 1-16-03 6:10P]

 

[bulldog12]

think of this...... What if lebron james played for Smyrna?

[liltimmy0605]

I look at it this way, if the kid is good enough for people to be buying him 50,000+ dollar vehicles to play for him, then it shows one of two things.

1. He has to be a good enough player to deserve something to show for it.

2. The team that did it is dumb for spending money on a guy that could get injured or just up and leave. Simple as that.

Either way, unless your as good or better then him, don't worry about his private life for teams.

[wneely]

I dont think its a team. Because there are 13 teams in the lottery for the #1 pick, right? So that may or may not have worked out, and a team could not even end up getting him.

[Stokomo]

On your statement of inner city kids and their background, I guess the Williams sisters fit that category huh? They grew up in the "hood," not from an affluent background. So where is your assumption? That's just thing to perpetuate what is wrong with society. Just because someone comes from the projects or low-income family doesn't give any bearing against the typical tennis or golf family loaded with money. If you want to take an example from your statement and prove it false, look at Jennifer Capriati. She stopped playing tennis because of an alcohol problem. She came from an affluent family and almost never recovered. Luckily, she got her stuff together and got back to the top of her game. Situations that happen to people don't care about money status or the background you come from. It will hit the poorest person or even the richest person.

[MaryvilleRebels]

First off, the guy who said this is all because he's black...I'm going to go off on a little racial thing I've seen, and sexist thing I've seen and I don't want you to think I go looking for this, but its just a few things I've noticed recently. As I was half-sleeping the other day listening to Opra, my mom was watching, I heard a colored man tell Oprah he was, "Working to help colored men have better work opportunites!" Now think if I white man has said that he was working to help whites have better work opportunities, what would have happened? He would have been considered racist by almost every person watching that show, it would have been on the news! Also, why is it that there are women's rights groups? Why no men? Why are there college courses of womens rights, historic women, african american history, all black colleges!? Could you imagine having an all white college, what chaos would that cause? Why are women considered a minority when they are 51 percent of the population? Thing is, whites aren't the only ones that are racist/sexist. I have noticed more racism towards white people than I have from white people. Secondly, golf is a very boring sport that isn't that exciting to watch, therefore it doesn't get a whole lot of attention in sports talk, and it isn't one of the top 3 sports in the nation, basketball is! So the golfer wouldn't be paid as much, his risk for injury is much less, he isn't in as much of a spotlight, why give him more attention than LeBron James!? Thirdly, what if this wasn't a loan!? I think that is most likely, but its also possible that an agent, the bank, adidas, nike, other shoe companies, all want his business and are trying to buy him into it. If a bank wants his money do you think they wouldn't give him what he wanted? Or a big name shoe company, you don't think they'd give him what he wanted? And yes 30,000 is a big difference, especially when one is a vehicle, which isn't that great of an investment, and the other is insurance. Afterall, in a vehicle you continue to lose money through gas, insurance, repairs, etc. The bank did as what the loan was for, they aren't just going to tell people to throw away that money and invest it in flying monkeys, they want to know if the investment is a good one or a bad one, and flying moneys isn't a good one!