John Thompson is Proud of LeBron James for Thinking…
...about something other than "shoes" or "strip clubs"...
What a mighty standard of expectation the old Georgetown coach has set for the new generation. Speaking on his own DC-based radio show, Thompson also manages to inject race into Decision 2010:
"The thing that is most significant to me personally is that those guys took the time to think about something other than whether they were going to a club or whether they were going somewhere to have a good time and put their efforts together to consolidate a strategy in terms of where they were going. And what's bothering me more than anything, I'm hearing African-American journalists get on and praise Pat Riley. Pat Riley didn't conceptualize this. This was started by those guys. We heard that. And I thought it would never happen. I thought they were ridiculous in thinking (it) could happen but you've got to give these guys credit for putting together their efforts and thinking about something. Having some business acumen as a priority in their thinking. And I'm certain Riley constructed the contracts but I'm so damn sick and tired of everything that goes negative they blame on these African-American players and the first time some intelligence is associated with something, that they're ready to say that Pat Riley did it and not giving these guys credit for doing it."
He re-emphasizes the statement above various times throughout the program, the day after LeBron James decided to take his "talents to South Beach."
"They sat down and thought about something other than shoes and going to a strip club and how the weather was and it's the first time that's ever happened. And it's going to scare the hell out of a hell of a lot of people."
"Now whether it was right or wrong, competitively whether it works out, how this thing was presented on television, to me that stuff is insignificant. I have my opinions about it but the significance of it to me is that you got three African-American guys that had business acumen and made a decision about something that I think is going to change sports forever because I think that other athletes are going to watch this in other sports and attempt to do it even if they can't."
Here's what happened, John. Most of the rest of the world covering this situation thought it to be fairly normal for "three African-American guys" to have "business acumen."
The atypical and most newsworthy aspect was the perceived heartlessness and thoughtlessness in which the decision was disseminated to the masses. You could also throw in the unique angle of a "hometown" guy fleeing for what he considered to be greener pastures.
Yet it seems Thompson thinks the big breakthrough is that young people of a particular race deserve praise for simply making a decision that doesn't involve "shoes", a "strip club," or the "weather?"
I'm not sure if I should somehow feel offended... or ask him to adopt me.
On a side note, you can count Basketball Hall of Famer KC Jones as a fan of ESPN's hour long special. Calling in to Thompson's show on Friday he said:
"I enjoyed watching it because I think it was just doing the job of telling everybody of where he wanted to go and he was going to go there. He spoke with his mom and she gave him the right answer."
I then expected him to yell, "Stern rules! Baba-booey! Stern rules! Baba-booey!" and then hang up the phone.
But, alas, that did not happen.
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