LeBron’s mom dragged into Cavs collapse blame game

OPINION - The elephant in the room since the Cavaliers were eliminated from the playoffs last week are the rumors that Delonte West is sleeping with Gloria James...

Marcus Vanderberg

May 21, 2010

We interrupt LeBron-mania for a story that seemingly won’t go away.

The elephant in the room since the Cleveland Cavaliers were eliminated from the 2010 NBA playoffs last week are the rumors that guard Delonte West is sleeping with Gloria James, the mother of LeBron James.

A report that you would expect to see on the cover of the National Enquirer circulated on the Internet last week, saying West has been sleeping with the 41-year-old James for quite some time but LeBron found out prior to Game 4 against the Boston Celtics.

James’ attorney, Frederick Nance, sent a cease and desist e-mail on Monday to terezowens.com saying, “No thinking person could possibly believe such rubbish.”

Cue Hall-of-Famer Calvin Murphy.

The Houston Rockets legend appeared on “The Drive with Carl Dukes, Dave Tepper and Julie Takahashi” on ESPN 97.5 in Houston and added more fuel to the fire.

“It ain’t no rumor,” Murphy said on Wednesday. “Unfortunately, my sources in the NBA tell me that it’s absolutely true. My sources, and they’re legit, tell me the only people that didn’t know it was happening was LeBron and me. And let me tell you something. Delonte West now is one of these players now that is going to get what they call the old proverbial black ball…I could not imagine me being in that situation and him still being on my team cause one of us is going to be dead and the other one is going to be in jail.”

Murphy, who has 14 children with nine women and was acquitted of sexually abusing five of his daughters in 2004, is hardly a reliable source in my eyes.

Whether the story is true or not, it’s irresponsible for Murphy, a fellow member of the media, to comment on the situation without knowing first hand.

Yes, it’s true that not only did the Cavaliers lose the last three games in the series, but also James had one of his worst games in recent history, shooting 3-for-14 with just 15 points in Game 5.

And yes, West went from averaging 28 minutes in the playoffs during the first eight games to just 14.3 minutes the final three.

Coincidence? Maybe.

It could have to do with the fact that James had an injured elbow and West went 0-for-7 from the field in Game 4, which forced Cavaliers head coach Mike Brown to bench him.

Of all the players on the Cavaliers roster, West is the easiest target for such a rumor. He took time off before training camp in 2008 in order to seek treatment for bipolar disorder. West normally doesn’t speak to the media, which means you shouldn’t expect him to come out and a make statement regarding the situation. With a pending trial this summer on weapon charges, the only reason why West wouldn’t be in the NBA next season is because of a prison sentence, not “the old proverbial black ball.”

Every man follows a certain code in life.

And one of those codes at the top of the list, right before dating your friend’s ex-girlfriend, is sleeping with your friend’s mom.

I don’t care if your friend’s mom was Halle Berry; moms are off limits 100 percent of the time.

Nobody has filed a missing person report for West to the Cleveland Police Department, which means not only is he still alive, but none of this Internet fodder is true.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled LeBron-mania columns already in progress.