Humility? LeBron? Have you met?

A friend of mine suggested to me today that I should get a job as a sports agent. It was due to a conversation we were having about LeBron James and his response to being knocked out of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals by the Orlando Magic. After having the league's best record for the regular season and sweeping through the first 2 rounds of the playoffs without really being challenged, LeBron and his Cleveland team mates were expected to advance to the finals on the back of the superstar himself. However due to a superior team display by Orlando and a lack of help for King James, The Cavs were knocked out in game 6 in Florida.

LeBron's reaction has been a talking point ever since.

He walked straight off the court. He went to the locker room, had a shower, put on his headphones and got out of Amway Arena.

He didn't do what is expected of a king. He didn't congratulate Team USA team mate Dwight Howard on the win. He didn't talk to the media about the loss. He didn't provide jornalists with a soundbite for the morning news. Essentially, he didn't play the game, and for most of that I don't really blame him.

I can understand not wanting to talk to the media and tell them what they want to hear, and lets face it, with his profile, all he could really say at the press conference is the standard cliched answers to the same old questions. Also, to be fair, sources in the media say he is the most accessible superstar in the NBA so missing one post game press conference can be forgiven, even if it was the elimination game of the Eastern Conference Finals, but his response to leaving the court immediately after the game when eventually fronting the media was this - "It's hard for me to congratulate somebody after you just lose to them, I'm a winner. It's not being a poor sport or anything like that. If somebody beats you up, you're not going to congratulate them. That doesn't make sense to me. I'm a competitor. That's what I do. It doesn't make sense for me to go over and shake somebody's hand."

This is what I have a problem with -

It's hard for me to congratulate somebody after you just lose to them

It's not just hard for you, it's hard for everyone. That's what makes it a noble thing to do.

I'm a winner

Not this time you're not, and you're not always going to be. Get used to it.

It's not being a poor sport or anything like that

I'm not Robert Cawdrey (credited with writing the first english dictionary) but I think that your action and this response may in fact be the new definition of being a poor sport.

If somebody beats you up, you're not going to congratulate them

If you're a fighter you do. And if you're a professional basketball player then you do it when you get beaten in a game of basketball.

That doesn't make sense to me. I'm a competitor. That's what I do. It doesn't make sense for me to go over and shake somebody's hand

I don't even know what to say to this part. I mean, how does that excuse anything? It doesn't make sense to me that a true competitor wouldn't appreciate the performance of his opponent and congrtulate him on it.

The more I read or hear his quote, it almost seems like he's trying to dig his way out of a mistake that he made, but he is failing.

It sounds like he is getting bad advice, which brings me back to my potential career as a sports agent.

There are 2 simple ways that he could have handled this that would have been alot better. If he wanted to try and save pride, he could have simply said he didn't want to take away from Dwight's moment and if he was to go and congratulate him on the court, the focus would have been on that rather than allowing Dwight to enjoy his moment, and that he would congratulate Dwight and the Magic privately in his own way

Or he could have simply admitted that he made a mistake. Admit that he should have handled the situation better and if he had his time again, he would have done things differently.

I would have thought those 2 options were obvious.

If his minders couldn't see this, then they are lucky to have their jobs, because they have grossly misjudged public opinion on the situation.

If my worst fears are true and LeBron James TRULY believes that he has nothing to answer for and that explanation is his real opinion, then I'm afraid you've just lost at least one of your fans, most likely more.

Ed