Kareem vs. LeBron: Much ado about nothing
OPINION: The Lakers legend wasn’t tearing down the current Laker and future hall of famer. There are plenty of others who unfairly do so, but that’s not what happened here.
Editor’s note: The following article is an op-ed, and the views expressed are the author’s own. Read more opinions on theGrio.
The 24-hour news cycle is an unrelenting beast that never gets its fill. Constantly on the hunt to feed an insatiable appetite, it regurgitates the smallest morsels and makes them resemble sumptuous meals for our consumption.
We’re then left with a daily choice: Dive in and gorge on every offering of junk food? Or turn down our plate and wait for more substantive fare?
Among the items on Sunday’s menu were headlines out of Los Angeles. One had “Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar criticizes some of LeBron James’ actions.” Another entrée included a quote atop the dish, noting Abdul-Jabbar’s contention that James “should be embarrassed” about some things.
I don’t know about you, but those sound like fried Oreos to me.
Holler back when they put out some ribeye.
It’s not breaking news that someone might not agree with everything someone else does, especially when the complainer is 74 and the target is 37. Folks from the older generation often complain about “kids these days” who think crazy, dress funny and are addicted to social media. If Abdul-Jabbar couldn’t criticize James for anything, I’d expect TV stations to interrupt their programs with beeping alerts, telling us, “this is NOT a test.”
As for the suggestion that James should be ashamed of some past actions and/or behavior, OK. I’ll go on a limb and suggest James would agree. It might not be whatever Abdul-Jabbar is thinking, but who among us has never acted in a manner that embarrasses us today? I’m certainly guilty (and thankful that the NBA’s all-time leading scorer doesn’t call me out).
“Some of the things he’s done and said are really beneath him,” Abdul-Jabbar told reporters Sunday during the unveiling of the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Champion Trophy. “Some of the great things he’s done, he’s standing on both sides of the fence almost, you know?”
No, not really.
Abdul-Jabbar didn’t mention specifics, but he’s come for James twice this season. The first time seems like a clear example of the generation gap. Celebrating a clutch three-pointer against Indiana in December, James broke into a “big balls dance” (popularized by former NBA All-Star Sam Cassell), bounding down the court with legs wide and hands cradled beneath his groin as if hauling super-sized testicles.
That’s good, harmless, (mostly) clean fun in my book, but not according to Abdul-Jabbar or the NBA, which hit James with a $15,000 fine for the pantomime. “For me, winning is enough,” Abdul-Jabbar said in a video post. “Why do you need to do a stupid, childish dance and disrespect the other team on the court? It doesn’t make sense. GOATs don’t dance.”
He sounds like an old man yelling at goats to get off his lawn.
The other offense in Abdul-Jabbar’s eyes could be a genuine misunderstanding later that month. James shared a popular meme on Instagram showing three identical Spider-Man characters pointing at each another, labeled “COVID,” “cold,” and “flu.” James’ caption read, “Help me out folks.”
I legitimately took it as exasperation that the three sicknesses can have similar symptoms in the initial stages, leaving us perplexed about which we might have early on. My interpretation was in the minority. Abdul-Jabbar and seemingly everyone else took it as minimizing the dangers of COVID-19 and mocking health officials. He wrote that James’ post was a “blow to his worthy legacy” because it implied “LeBron doesn’t understand the difference among these three illnesses, even after all the information that’s presented in the press.”
Two months earlier, James got on Abdul-Jabbar’s bad side (and mine, too) in a way that left no room for confusion, leading to a post titled, “Why LeBron is wrong about ‘honoring’ vaccine hesitancy.” Kareem might’ve been thinking about the pandemic on Sunday, saying he has “a higher expectation for (James) because he understands the issues and has spoken to them quite forcefully and eloquently.”
Differences of opinion on the vaccine are old, and the two Lakers legends covered it months ago. So, essentially, the weekend news amounted to much ado about…nuts?
Abdul-Jabbar set the record straight after seeing the unintended waves he caused, wanting no part in joining haters who seek to drown King James.
“I regret my off-handed response which has been blown out of proportion,” he tweeted. “For years I’ve expressed my deep admiration and respect for LeBron as a community leader and athlete. That hasn’t changed and never will.”
To everyone who wolfed down Sunday’s candy like it was meat, don’t get it twisted while swallowing. Kareem wasn’t tearing down LeBron. There are plenty of others who willingly do so, unfairly, but that’s not what happened here.
Watch what you eat.
An award-winning columnist and a principal of BlackDoor Ventures, Inc., Deron Snyder is a veteran journalist, stratcomm professional, author, and adjunct professor. A native of Brooklyn and an Alpha from H.U.-You Know, he resides in metropolitan DC with his wife, Vanessa, mother of their daughters, Sierra and Sequoia. To learn more, please visit blackdoorventures.com/deron.
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