Milwaukee Bucks boycotting Game 5 in protest of the Jacob Blake shooting

[BradInATX 9,208]

By the, can we LOL at LeBron a bit here?

Dude in Milwaukee gets shot.. silence from LeBron

Next morning.. silence from LeBron

Next afternoon the Bucks refuse to show up for the game

Shortly after the Bucks do their thing LeBron tweets ABOUT HOW FUCKING MAD HE IS

All of the other teams refuse to play

Later that evening, LeBron "leads the charge" to cancel the entire season.

 

Dude doesn't care about social issues. He bandwagons them when he doesn't want to get left out of a popular wave of a movement. He's such a front running chump.

Edited August 27, 2020 by BradInATX

[BurntOrange&White 39,934]

The vast, vast majority of NFL players have extremely short playing careers and want/need their game checks.  It's the reason why their union is by far the weakest of all major sports.  I absolutely think there is a significant contingent of the NBA that feels the same way but NBA is way more star driven.   On one hand I respect Lebron for taking a stand, something many iconic sports figures have failed to do, but he's not really risking anything financially whatsoever.  Hell, this may end up helping his endorsement income.  But the last 3-4 off the bench that will never have a shoe deal and know every season might be their last (or only season) have a little more at stake if they shut things down.

To tie into my question above what happens to the non superstar player? What happens to the bottom roster guys and mid range roster guys if they continue to not play into next season?

[immortal13 4,059]

Just now, Bevo VIII said:

To tie into my question above what happens to the non superstar player? What happens to the bottom roster guys and mid range roster guys if they continue to not play into next season?

Lebron will hire them to do lawn work at his estates

[Skipper 6,135]

1 minute ago, BradInATX said:

LOL at LeBron

Dude in Milwaukee gets shot.. silence from LeBron

Next morning.. silence from LeBron

Next afternoon the Bucks refuse to show up for the game

Shortly after LeBron tweets ABOUT HOW FUCKING MAD HE IS

Later that evening, LeBron "leads the charge" to cancel the entire season.

 

Dude doesn't care about social issues. He bandwagons them when he doesn't want to get left out of a popular wave. He's such a chump.

I'm no Lebron defender but that's not accurate.  He was tweeting about it a couple of days ago.

[BurntOrange&White 39,934]

By the, can we LOL at LeBron a bit here?
Dude in Milwaukee gets shot.. silence from LeBron
Next morning.. silence from LeBron
Next afternoon the Bucks refuse to show up for the game
Shortly after the Bucks do their thing LeBron tweets ABOUT HOW FUCKING MAD HE IS
All of the other teams refuse to play
Later that evening, LeBron "leads the charge" to cancel the entire season.
 
Dude doesn't care about social issues. He bandwagons them when he doesn't want to get left out of a popular wave of a movement. He's such a front running chump.

[Don Johnson 4,754]

1 minute ago, Skipper said:

I'm no Lebron defender but that's not accurate.  He was tweeting about it a couple of days ago.

Correct.  And it wasn't Milwaukee.

 

[ztejas 43,459]

6 minutes ago, Don Johnson said:

I've been watching since the playoffs started but honestly the whole thing has a weird feel to it, and there's an unspoken asterisk that will be placed next to the champ no matter what.  I honestly don't think anyone will care if the season is called off and it will be "yesterday's news" within a week.

I was starting to have a hard time taking it seriously with teams scoring 150 points and players breaking scoring records left and right.

It was still fun to watch but it's not a brand of basketball that we need. I think refusing to finish would be a powerful statement. Wait until we get a better handle on this virus and go balls out next year. The weight of that championship would be worth 2 of these bubble titles.

[mdmost 43,004]

3 minutes ago, BradInATX said:

By the, can we LOL at LeBron a bit here?

Dude in Milwaukee gets shot.. silence from LeBron

Next morning.. silence from LeBron

Next afternoon the Bucks refuse to show up for the game

Shortly after the Bucks do their thing LeBron tweets ABOUT HOW FUCKING MAD HE IS

All of the other teams refuse to play

Later that evening, LeBron "leads the charge" to cancel the entire season.

 

Dude doesn't care about social issues. He bandwagons them when he doesn't want to get left out of a popular wave of a movement. He's such a front running chump.

Actually...

 

[BradInATX 9,208]

Just now, mdmost said:

Actually...

 

 

Ah, well. Mea culpa. Either way, he went from Tweeting to trying to lead the charge to cancel the season in a matter of 6 hours after watching the Bucks take actual tangible action. Peak LeBron.

[mdmost 43,004]

He's the most visible NBA player so....

[d2o 1,602]

Bron haters gonna hate.   Good grief.

[ztejas 43,459]

Anyone questioning LeBron's moral compass or motivations for speaking out on stuff like this at this point is an idiot.

[Hornius Emeritus 12,464]

30 minutes ago, Skipper said:

You plan is for a bunch of guys with zero broadcasting experience talk about social justice issues while a game is being played?  Like half play by play half BLM?   LOL.   Brilliant.

There's a pass to Lebron. Lebron passes Anthony Davis, back to Lebron ... Slaves were counted as only 3/5ths of the population when it came to take the census from 1790-1860 ... kickout pass out to Avery Bradley and BRADLEY with the THREE from downtown! 

[BurntOrange&White 39,934]

Anyone questioning LeBron's moral compass or motivations for speaking out on stuff like this at this point is an idiot.

My biggest complaint about him is how he only does it through social media for the most part. Why not go on ESPN/CNN/Fox/Fox Sports/ etc to talk about the issues and provide good thoughts on what he thinks needs to happen and etc.

[Don Johnson 4,754]

3 minutes ago, Bevo VIII said:

My biggest complaint about him is how he only does it through social media for the most part. Why not go on ESPN/CNN/Fox/Fox Sports/ etc to talk about the issues and provide good thoughts on what he thinks needs to happen and etc.

IMO he does that all the time.  He's about as outspoken as any athlete there is.

[BurdineBandit 815]

I wonder what the nit-pick would've been if he had single-handedly cancelled all NBA games the day after the shooting. Y'all would probably say he's an idiot because he reacted quickly without a plan. Or that he did it in front of a camera (with his huge visibility) so he's really just doing it for himself and "needs to be the face" and should step back. There's a built in complaint for any action he takes, or could've taken, and damn y'all will find the fuck out of it. 

[G650 14,263]

7 minutes ago, Bevo VIII said:

ESPN/CNN/Fox/Fox Sports/

Do people actually watch TV anymore?

[BurntOrange&White 39,934]

Do people actually watch TV anymore?

Probably not I think Pew has a poll where 62% get it from social media. I just listed those because that’s where the interviews talks need to happen as they are the largest news networks in our country. Then from there it just gets distributed on social media

[Surly Bevo 24,961]

Lebron hate is a prime example of the decisions you make sticking with you

He's been plenty out in front of this one on Twitter but it doesn't take a whole lot of effort to tweet outrage otherwise Twitter wouldn't be the cesspool that it is.  I did see a few Tweets (so take it for what it is worth) that one of LBJs biggest issues in the meeting last night was that he wasn't "in the loop" on what the Bucks were doing.  Hopefully not the case because that would look pretty petty and childish if that is what he was in fact most upset about in that moment.  

I sit here and totally understand the sentiment, agree with the direction, would be fine if they decide they don't want to come back.  Thinking all of that I also happen to think this move by itself won't have a huge impact. The NBA is a huge business but the reality is that even their biggest games  (Finals) get taken in by 15-20M  people.  Let's say that there are another 10m folks who don't watch but follow it pretty regularly through other platforms so 30M.  That's less than 10% of the country and ~23% of voters in last POTUS election (assuming perfect overlap).  The harsh numbers are that there is already a super majority of this country that don't care about sports or the NBA.  This will make a statement but to overcome the numbers and really reach the masses there is going to have to be a lot of good follow-up.  Whoever mentioned above if the players all go home and it dies off in a few weeks the long game won't be much in the way of accomplishment. But I guess every journey has to begin with a first step.

[Pancho 44,831]

12 minutes ago, Bevo VIII said:

My biggest complaint about him is how he only does it through social media for the most part. Why not go on ESPN/CNN/Fox/Fox Sports/ etc to talk about the issues and provide good thoughts on what he thinks needs to happen and etc.

WTF does this have to do with anything? So because he doesn’t go on political news shows to talk about issues and instead does it on his social media—which has a far larger audience than any interview would get—that bothers you?  This is seriously a post where you are just looking for a reason to complain about him, what he’s fighting for, or both.  

Let’s face it—he could go on those shows and then you’d come back here and complain that he’s just looking for attention or something.  He could do exactly what you want and you’d still find a reason to complain. 

So you should really just admit the real reason this bothers you.  You’d feel a lot better. 

[BradInATX 9,208]

30 minutes ago, d2o said:

Bron haters gonna hate.   Good grief.

I'm actually not a Bron "hater". I know that watching ESPN probably has you conditioned to simplify all arguments to either "hater" or "fan" or whatever, but there's a lot of gray area for human beings. I've spent a lot of time defending him in casual sports conversation with friends, etc. But in the last year or so he's done a lot of avoiding social issues, flip flopping, and front-running, starting with the China thing, segueing into the refusal to wear BLM on his jersey as the most visible player in the league, into this.

A guy like Jaylen Brown seems to actually believe in what he's saying. LeBron appears to look at social issues more as a marketing issue than a civil rights issue. I still think he's a good dude with a good heart and the second best player in history. He's a much better person and face of the league than Jordan, who is a total piece of shit. But there's no denying that he looks at everything from the marketing angle before anything else. It looks a little bitch-made.

25 minutes ago, ztejas said:

Anyone questioning LeBron's moral compass or motivations for speaking out on stuff like this at this point is an idiot.

You sure respond to me indirectly a lot for someone who claims to have me on ignore. 

Edited August 27, 2020 by BradInATX

[mdmost 43,004]

He has 47.1 million followers on social media. He can eclipse all the news shows combined with one tweet. And then that tweet gets picked up by the same news shows he's not going on. Plus, he controls his message. It's the same reason The Players Tribune was created. 

[BurntOrange&White 39,934]

WTF does this have to do with anything? So because he doesn’t go on political news shows to talk about issues and instead does it on his social media—which has a far larger audience than any interview would get—that bothers you?  This is seriously a post where you are just looking for a reason to complain about him, what he’s fighting for, or both.  
Let’s face it—he could go on those shows and then you’d come back here and complain that he’s just looking for attention or something.  He could do exactly what you want and you’d still find a reason to complain. 
So you should really just admit the real reason this bothers you.  You’d feel a lot better. 

If he goes on those shows and gives generic talking points and doesn’t provide well thought out ideas then it’s just him tweeting the stuff he does to insight reaction. Look I support him using the platform but when it comes down to it he needs to also provide solutions and thoughts towards those solutions instead of just FUCK THIS MAN type tweets.


There has to be substance behind his thoughts and there has to be ideas to solutions.

Or it’s all for nothing.

He’s the most well known athlete in the US. Use it to the full ability

[dingleberryswitzer 2,724]

2 minutes ago, BehoId, The Underminer! said:

it would be bad ass if nfl teams did this too. that would reach the demographic that needs to hear the message as well.  but the owners are too powerful there. the jerruhs of the world are still mad a kaep and have their thumbs on the screws too much 

This right here.  We'll see though.  I think with the larger teams and a larger base of player wanting to play, the games will go on.  Plus with non guaranteed contracts, unless you are making 10+ mil a season you are easily cut.

[Catdaddyhorn 3,446]

52 minutes ago, Wulaw Horn said:

NYC right?  

Yep it was in NYC, but I believe he played for the Hawks. 

[d2o 1,602]

8 minutes ago, BradInATX said:

I'm actually not a Bron "hater". I know that watching ESPN probably has you conditioned to simplify all arguments to either "hater" or "fan" or whatever, but there's a lot of gray area. I've spent a lot of time defending him in casual sports conversation with friends, etc. But in the last year or so he's done a lot of avoiding social issues, flip flopping, and front-running, starting with the China thing, segueing into the refusal to wear BLM on his jersey as the most visible player in the league, into this.

 

You sure respond to me indirectly a lot for someone who claims to have me on ignore. 

So you're surprised and have an issue with him prioritizing an issue facing black people here in America over an issue on the other side of the world?

Edited August 27, 2020 by d2o

[BradInATX 9,208]

Just now, d2o said:

So you're surprised and have an issue with him prioritizing an issue facing black people over an issue on the other side of the world?

What? How did you get any of that from my post? Read it again.

[BradInATX 9,208]

Re: my statements on LeBron, I'll let Jaylen Brown speak for me, as he says it much better than I could.

Okay, if you guys leave here, are you just gonna leave and go chill and hang out with your families and lose that loneliness, or are you gonna be in the trenches, are you gonna be in the streets?

 

Where do you think LeBron will be?

[TonyTexas 10,515]

He’s no Martin Luther King

 

[Rockethorn1978 6,087]

Just curious for someone in the know, At what point does "not playing" effect their contracts and getting paid? Usually a strike at a regular job means a sacrifice of pay? I know that doesn't mean anything to super max players but it will to role players and bench guys that make the minimum. NBA already took a hit during the break from covid and now can play so wondering how much the owners put up with and this flowing into next season as well. Surely these guys don't think the owners are gonna pay them to be social warrior protestors right? Like i'm cool if you want to do that but also realizing you might need to retire if it means that much to you.

[Wulaw Horn 19,074]

9 minutes ago, mdmost said:

He has 47.1 million followers on social media. He can eclipse all the news shows combined with one tweet. And then that tweet gets picked up by the same news shows he's not going on. Plus, he controls his message. It's the same reason The Players Tribune was created. 

Holy shit. I was just going to ask if it was really true social media had more reach than a huge TV interview that got hyped for 72 hours. I had no idea he was reaching 50 million every day. Damn. This social media might be a thing. 

[BradInATX 9,208]

1 minute ago, Rockethorn1978 said:

Just curious for someone in the know, At what point does "not playing" effect their contracts and getting paid? Usually a strike at a regular job means a sacrifice of pay? I know that doesn't mean anything to super max players but it will to role players and bench guys that make the minimum. NBA already took a hit during the break from covid and now can play so wondering how much the owners put up with and this flowing into next season as well. Surely these guys don't think the owners are gonna pay them to be social warrior protestors right? Like i'm cool if you want to do that but also realizing you might need to retire if it means that much to you.

They don't get paid for the playoffs. They are contractually bound to play in the playoffs if they make it, but there's about a 0.0001% chance the owners would sue them over that.

The financial consequence would be loss of revenue from the rest of the playoffs, which would slightly decrease the salary cap going forward. So they will feel a bit of pain if they do it.

[Wulaw Horn 19,074]

15 minutes ago, BradInATX said:

I'm actually not a Bron "hater". I know that watching ESPN probably has you conditioned to simplify all arguments to either "hater" or "fan" or whatever, but there's a lot of gray area. I've spent a lot of time defending him in casual sports conversation with friends, etc. But in the last year or so he's done a lot of avoiding social issues, flip flopping, and front-running, starting with the China thing, segueing into the refusal to wear BLM on his jersey as the most visible player in the league, into this.

A guy like Jaylen Brown seems to actually believe in what he's saying. LeBron appears to look at social issues more as a marketing issue than a civil rights issue. I still think he's a good dude with a good heart and the second best player in history. He's a much better person and face of the league than Jordan, who is a total piece of shit. But there's no denying that he looks at everything from the marketing angle before anything else.

You sure respond to me indirectly a lot for someone who claims to have me on ignore. 

Same. He’s a great talent. I have zero doubt his heart is in the right place on pretty much everything he does. 
But, I also think his brand is the number 1 thing for him and the China thing laid that bare for anyone paying attention to see. 
He has the right to focus on influencing what he wants, but he was ruthless in throwing Morey under the bus when Morey took a stance that was “on the right side of history” but hurt Lebrons paycheck. 

Edited August 27, 2020 by Wulaw Horn

[Wulaw Horn 19,074]

8 minutes ago, Catdaddyhorn said:

Yep it was in NYC, but I believe he played for the Hawks. 

Yessir. 

[Sbbruin 21,858]

4 minutes ago, TonyTexas said:

He’s no Martin Luther King

 

He's the full hot orator.

[BradInATX 9,208]

2 minutes ago, Wulaw Horn said:

Same. He’s a great talent. I have zero doubt his heart is in the right place on pretty much everything he does. 
But, I also think his brand is the number 2 thing for him and the China thing laid that bare for anyone paying attention to see. 
He has the right to focus on influencing what he wants, but he was ruthless in throwing Morey under the bus when Morey took a stance that was “on the right side of history” but hurt Lebrons paycheck. 

Yep. I mean I get that everybody pretty much had a gag order on China and I don't fault anyone for not coming out and straight up saying "FUCK CHINA!" (which is the correct answer). But what he did to Morey was absurd and inexcusable and a massive chump move.. and I think Morey is an obnoxious blowhard.

Edited August 27, 2020 by BradInATX

[Catdaddyhorn 3,446]

29 minutes ago, ztejas said:

Anyone questioning LeBron's moral compass or motivations for speaking out on stuff like this at this point is an idiot.

Ain't that the truth. He's easily been the most outspoken and politically active bigtime athlete in my lifetime. Everything from taking an active role in creating a public school for disadvantaged students, to voter registration initiatives, to literally paying the poll taxes in Florida for convicted felons, to leading the way for sports franchises to offer up stadiums/venues as polling places. You name it, he's our there in front doing it. I personally don't like a lot things about Lebron's personality and oversensitivity to his image, but when it comes to him being out in front for the things he believes there's no denying that aspect of him. 

[Pancho 44,831]

19 minutes ago, Bevo VIII said:

If he goes on those shows and gives generic talking points and doesn’t provide well thought out ideas then it’s just him tweeting the stuff he does to insight reaction. Look I support him using the platform but when it comes down to it he needs to also provide solutions and thoughts towards those solutions instead of just FUCK THIS MAN type tweets.


There has to be substance behind his thoughts and there has to be ideas to solutions.

Or it’s all for nothing.

He’s the most well known athlete in the US. Use it to the full ability

Then you haven't been paying attention to his social media over the last few years and instead are judging it by 1 tweet that has been posted in this thread an unnecessary amount of times. 

I have posted numerous Lebron tweets (or tweets about him) and the action steps he's making.  You should go read those. 

[StruggleBus 3,922]

58 minutes ago, BradInATX said:

By the, can we LOL at LeBron a bit here?

Dude in Milwaukee gets shot.. silence from LeBron

Next morning.. silence from LeBron

Next afternoon the Bucks refuse to show up for the game

Shortly after the Bucks do their thing LeBron tweets ABOUT HOW FUCKING MAD HE IS

All of the other teams refuse to play

Later that evening, LeBron "leads the charge" to cancel the entire season.

 

Dude doesn't care about social issues. He bandwagons them when he doesn't want to get left out of a popular wave of a movement. He's such a front running chump.

Everything you said is true. 

[d2o 1,602]

4 minutes ago, StruggleBus said:

Everything you said is UNtrue. 

fify

[BurntOrange&White 39,934]

Then you haven't been paying attention to his social media over the last few years and instead are judging it by 1 tweet that has been posted in this thread an unnecessary amount of times. 
I have posted numerous Lebron tweets (or tweets about him) and the action steps he's making.  You should go read those. 

Please educate me then in what Lebron thinks we should do and what he has done to fix things?

[mdmost 43,004]

12 minutes ago, Catdaddyhorn said:

Ain't that the truth. He's easily been the most outspoken and politically active bigtime athlete in my lifetime. Everything from taking an active role in creating a public school for disadvantaged students, to voter registration initiatives, to literally paying the poll taxes in Florida for convicted felons, to leading the way for sports franchises to offer up stadiums/venues as polling places. You name it, he's our there in front doing it. I personally don't like a lot things about Lebron's personality and oversensitivity to his image, but when it comes to him being out in front for the things he believes there's no denying that aspect of him. 

Yeah but he didn't speak up about China so that negates anything else positive that he's ever done or will ever do/attempt to do. 

[Pancho 44,831]

Resuming the playoffs, per ESPN

[d2o 1,602]

 

[David Dennison 18,875]

5 minutes ago, Bevo VIII said:

Please educate me then in what Lebron thinks we should do and what he has done to fix things?

He has drawn widespread attention to the problem which is the first step in bringing about the political change required for this country to get a handle on racially motivated police brutality. He also has a foundation which directs money to social causes which are important to him as a black man in America.

 

Edited August 27, 2020 by David Dennison

[Pancho 44,831]

4 minutes ago, Bevo VIII said:

Please educate me then in what Lebron thinks we should do and what he has done to fix things?

You're an adult with high speed internet access.  You should educate yourself. 

[Dr Fear 1,268]

[TonyTexas 10,515]

Money talks

[d2o 1,602]

4 minutes ago, Bevo VIII said:

Please educate me then in what Lebron thinks we should do and what he has done to fix things?

Didnt realize that he needed to have the answer to something that has remained unresolved for 400+ yrs in order to have an opinion or issue with them.

[BurntOrange&White 39,934]

Money talks

Always has, always will.