LeBron James joined Twitter on July 6, 2010 to reach out to his fans. He gained 25,000 followers within an hour and even without a single tweet. To date, he has over 929,000 followers. James called Tuesday "Hater Day" and retweeted three hateful messages directed towards him.
1. ``You are a big-nosed, big-lipped bug eyed [racist word]. Ur greedy, u try to hide ur ghettoness.''
2. ``No one wants to hear u speak. Why don't you speak by laying ur head under a moving car?'' James added the words, ``Haaa, OK I'll try that.''
3. ``I hope your cramps turn out to be a torn hamstring, [expletive].''
I agree that this is out of line and nobody should have to deal with these comments. LeBron James is not just anybody.
King James was drafted with the #1 pick in the 2003 draft, right out of high school. Within the first five years of his career he made over $18,000,000 and this does not include endorsements. James then signed a contract extension in 2006 and became a free agent in 2010. The 2010 free agency period was the called the best free agency period of all time. He was given pitches by the Nets, Knicks, Clippers, Heat and Cavs.
Any other player would announce his decision via a press conference. LeBron decided that he was going to announce his selection during prime-time on ESPN and even titled his spectacle as "The Decision." Nearly 14 million people tuned in. However, the Cavaliers (James' hometown team) were left to watch his decision on TV like everyone else. LeBron did not even tell the Cavs prior to the show that he chose another team. Where is your loyalty LeBron? Did you not have the guts to tell your team for the past 7 years that you didn't want to return?
James says that the media has targeted him due to his race. The media has published stories about him because he asked for this attention. When he elected to announce his decision this way, he brought on this backlash.
You must deal with the consequences of your 'Decision.' Not everyone is going to like you and say respectful things to you. Twitter is a great way for you to interact with your fans, but it also allows them to directly contact you and voice their opinions of you. You are different LeBron James and you will always have people that do not like you.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
NFL Helmet to Helmet hits
If you watched the NFL over this past weekend, you more than likely saw at least three vicious helmet to helmet hits. The NFL issued a statement that it was going to look into the hits from the weekend. After review, they have decided that fines would be issued (even for first time offenders) and starting this week, suspensions.
Drawing a $75,000 fine was James Harrison's (Pittsburgh Steelers) hit on Mohamed Massaquoi (Cleveland Browns). Earlier in the game, he also had a hit on Joshua Cribbs which resulted in a concussion. Harrison is a repeat offender, causing his fine to be higher than the others. At the age of 32 he is contemplating retirement due to the new rule. He feels that he can no longer be effective as a player.
There were two additional hits that drew $50,000 fines each. Brandon Meriweather (New England Patriots) on Todd Heap (Baltimore Ravens). Finally, Dunta Robinson's (Atlanta Falcons) hit on DeSean Jackson (Philadelphia Eagles) which resulted in both players leaving the game due to concussions and did not return.
I cannot begin to imagine what kind of pain these players are going through when they get hit helmet to helmet at full speed. You also have to think about the families of these players. Most are married and have children that are also watching these games on TV. For them to see their husband/dad get hit like that, must make these individuals scared for their loved one's life.
I guess some people are fans of these types of hits, but not me. How can you be the fan of a hit that can cost someone the game, season, career or even their LIFE. I am a fan of the game, I care about who wins and loses. I want my team to win the Superbowl and the team I dislike, well, I hope they get blown out. Isn't that what football is all about? Wining the championship, but at what cost?
With the announcement of the fines and suspension, former and current players have lashed out against the NFL.
One former player that I took notice of is Mark Schlereth. He won 3 Super Bowls with the Denver Broncos. He is definitely a great person to follow on Twitter here. He also had 29 surgeries over a 12 year career. Here is his video while he was on Sportscenter today.
Schlereth brings up many GREAT points. The NFL is being hypocritical. They want to expand the season to 18 games which, at this rate, will cause many players to retire sooner due to injuries.
My opinion on these hits, the NFL is doing the right thing in trying to protect its players. I feel that a player can do his job and give his team a chance to win. A player does not need to cause a concussion to make their team win. The teams that have won Super Bowls in the past few years have not been known for dirty hits. The Cinderella team won the Super Bowl last year (New Orleans Saints).
Are you going to continue to allow these hits if it may cause a former player to be dead in just 10-15 years after their career is over? In the past few years, several former players have died at early ages (between 40-50) due to diseases caused by concussions they sustained during their NFL careers. There are also numerous players in their 30's that are still feeling the effects of these hits. This caused the NFL to fund research into the effects of concussions on NFL players after their careers.
Due to this study the NFL has implemented a strict concussion policy. A player cannot return to a game after a concussion unless they pass tests that prove they are not feeling symptoms of the concussion. If the player does not return to the game, they must go through rigorous testing during the week and be validated by an outside brain specialist to ensure they are symptom free.
An NFL player's career can be between 5 to 15 years. This is time they are spending away from their families and loved ones. There is off season training camps, pre-season training camps/games then the 17 week schedule and a possible postseason.
Following their career they deal with the aftermath of their injuries, most importantly concussions. Players have dealt with lack of sleep, depression and even Dementia. These concussions that a player encounters from these hits affects them for the rest of their life. It not only affects them but also their families.
I know that many fans will miss watching these hits in a game, but the players' families will not miss these hits. These new rules will hopefully stop these type of hits from occurring and causing concussions. This will allow these players to active in their child's life after football. In the short-term, the NFL eliminates these hits, but allows players to have longer and more productive lives after football.
In my next blog: LeBron James speaks out on his Twitter account
Drawing a $75,000 fine was James Harrison's (Pittsburgh Steelers) hit on Mohamed Massaquoi (Cleveland Browns). Earlier in the game, he also had a hit on Joshua Cribbs which resulted in a concussion. Harrison is a repeat offender, causing his fine to be higher than the others. At the age of 32 he is contemplating retirement due to the new rule. He feels that he can no longer be effective as a player.
There were two additional hits that drew $50,000 fines each. Brandon Meriweather (New England Patriots) on Todd Heap (Baltimore Ravens). Finally, Dunta Robinson's (Atlanta Falcons) hit on DeSean Jackson (Philadelphia Eagles) which resulted in both players leaving the game due to concussions and did not return.
I cannot begin to imagine what kind of pain these players are going through when they get hit helmet to helmet at full speed. You also have to think about the families of these players. Most are married and have children that are also watching these games on TV. For them to see their husband/dad get hit like that, must make these individuals scared for their loved one's life.
I guess some people are fans of these types of hits, but not me. How can you be the fan of a hit that can cost someone the game, season, career or even their LIFE. I am a fan of the game, I care about who wins and loses. I want my team to win the Superbowl and the team I dislike, well, I hope they get blown out. Isn't that what football is all about? Wining the championship, but at what cost?
With the announcement of the fines and suspension, former and current players have lashed out against the NFL.
One former player that I took notice of is Mark Schlereth. He won 3 Super Bowls with the Denver Broncos. He is definitely a great person to follow on Twitter here. He also had 29 surgeries over a 12 year career. Here is his video while he was on Sportscenter today.
Schlereth brings up many GREAT points. The NFL is being hypocritical. They want to expand the season to 18 games which, at this rate, will cause many players to retire sooner due to injuries.
My opinion on these hits, the NFL is doing the right thing in trying to protect its players. I feel that a player can do his job and give his team a chance to win. A player does not need to cause a concussion to make their team win. The teams that have won Super Bowls in the past few years have not been known for dirty hits. The Cinderella team won the Super Bowl last year (New Orleans Saints).
Are you going to continue to allow these hits if it may cause a former player to be dead in just 10-15 years after their career is over? In the past few years, several former players have died at early ages (between 40-50) due to diseases caused by concussions they sustained during their NFL careers. There are also numerous players in their 30's that are still feeling the effects of these hits. This caused the NFL to fund research into the effects of concussions on NFL players after their careers.
Due to this study the NFL has implemented a strict concussion policy. A player cannot return to a game after a concussion unless they pass tests that prove they are not feeling symptoms of the concussion. If the player does not return to the game, they must go through rigorous testing during the week and be validated by an outside brain specialist to ensure they are symptom free.
An NFL player's career can be between 5 to 15 years. This is time they are spending away from their families and loved ones. There is off season training camps, pre-season training camps/games then the 17 week schedule and a possible postseason.
Following their career they deal with the aftermath of their injuries, most importantly concussions. Players have dealt with lack of sleep, depression and even Dementia. These concussions that a player encounters from these hits affects them for the rest of their life. It not only affects them but also their families.
I know that many fans will miss watching these hits in a game, but the players' families will not miss these hits. These new rules will hopefully stop these type of hits from occurring and causing concussions. This will allow these players to active in their child's life after football. In the short-term, the NFL eliminates these hits, but allows players to have longer and more productive lives after football.
In my next blog: LeBron James speaks out on his Twitter account
Introduction
Well, I figured that I would use my first blog to explain what my future blogs will be about. I like to get my sports fix at night and sometimes in the morning. I find myself reading www.espn.com during my break/lunch at work, just to know what is going on in the sports world. When I get home, I watch what I read about all day in action on Sportscenter.
My favorite teams include:
MLB: Houston Astros & Corpus Christi Hooks (Minor league affiliate of the Astros)
NBA: San Antonio Spurs
NFL: Dallas Cowboys
College team: University of Connecticut Huskies
My blog will include my opinions of anything sports related that I find interesting. It could be about a game or story of the day.
My blog may also include anything news related: technology, local or global.
I would like to invite you to follow, add comments or suggestions. Thanks for reading
My favorite teams include:
MLB: Houston Astros & Corpus Christi Hooks (Minor league affiliate of the Astros)
NBA: San Antonio Spurs
NFL: Dallas Cowboys
College team: University of Connecticut Huskies
My blog will include my opinions of anything sports related that I find interesting. It could be about a game or story of the day.
My blog may also include anything news related: technology, local or global.
I would like to invite you to follow, add comments or suggestions. Thanks for reading
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