LeBron James‘ recent criticism of the NBA media has not gone down well with ESPN’s Michael Wilbon. Wilbon blasted James on an episode of Pardon the Interruption, making it clear that the media are not on his payroll.
“Mostly no, but there’s a lot of layers here and there’s some stuff I might agree with him,” Wilbon said. “And I watched Channing Frye have this rant, and it was insightful, and I disagree with Channing, who I know and like tremendously. And if I was sitting with Channing and or LeBron, I would say hold on for a second.
“First of all, we live in a world now in which those guys, and particularly LeBron, they know how to use and manipulate social media,” Wilbon stated. “But it goes both ways, it cuts both ways, and that’s where a great part of the negativity is… We live in a world that is largely negative, having nothing to do with sports.
“That’s the world we live in, and you live in it,” Wilbon continued. “And in LeBron’s case, though when you’ve been praised justifiably, you’ve earned the praise and the hundreds of millions of dollars that have started since you were 8 years old. When you put on a crown on your head, do you actually believe that the rest of us are just in your kingdom to serve you? Sorry.
“There’s criticism that comes with that; there’s comparison that comes with that,” Wilbon added. “… I’d like to ask him, is he referring to the constant comparisons with Michael Jordan? ‘Cause if he doesn’t like that, too damn bad. The comparison, the constant attention, that’s how you get all that money. It doesn’t come from fannies in seats.
“It comes from attention and eyeballs and viewership and listnership and all of that, Tony,” Wilbon stated. “And I just wonder, do you think we’re supposed to be just there in public relations terms? We’re not on your payroll, we’re not there just to praise you.”
Wilbon has been fairly complimentary of James in the past, but he went scorched earth here. He isn’t the only notable individual in the media to have had a strong reaction to the Los Angeles Lakers star’s recent comments, with Stephen A. Smith slamming LeBron, too.
All of this, of course, began when James called out those who cover the NBA for talking down on the players. The 40-year-old stated he understood why someone like Anthony Edwards wasn’t striving to be the face of the NBA with the constant criticism that gets levied at players.
James later spoke out again on the negative media coverage after he received some pushback for his initial comments. The 21-time All-Star wanted to make it clear that this wasn’t about him but about the impact all the negativity was having on the game and the fans.
James made a lot of valid points there, but it’s unlikely to change things too much. He wasn’t asking for the players to be coddled and just wanted some more positive coverage about all that’s great in the NBA today.
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