LeBron Posterized – Tapes Confiscated, $50,000 Reward Offered
LeBron James basketball camp is supposed to be for young kids to learn, grow their basketball skills and have some fun.
Apparently it’s not all just fun and games for everyone.
Recently, at LeBron James Skills Academy, James and four teammates (Cavs players James, Danny Green, Tarence Kinsey, Christian Eyenga, and James’ high school teammate Romeo Travis) played a five-on-five game against five college players, including Xavier transfer Jordan Crawford.
Crawford, drove to the basket on a play and slammed home a dunk over LeBron James, which set off quite the uproar.
Most people understand that basketball is an offensive game and points are scored in the 100’s, which means each team scores roughly 40-50 baskets a game. In a sport where offense dominates so much, you would think that no one would take it personal when someone scores but James – the NBA’s leading scorer – did.
Nike officials, who run the camp, quickly found everyone videotaping the event and confiscated the tapes.
Nike, who is obviously a huge sponsor of James, didn’t want their superstar to lose any of his shine and as we all know, in the modern day with the internet, the video of James getting dunked on would have circulated around Facebook, Twitter and Youtube so fast that by the end of the day, millions of people would have seen it.
The behavior of Nike Basketball senior director Lynn Merritt, who helps run the camp at the University of Akron in James’ hometown, was a little much when he confiscated tapes. The reasoning was also weak, suggesting that videotaping of after-hours pickup games at the camp is not allowed.
A similar incident happened to New Jersey Nets point guard, Devin Harris, was styled on in a street pickup game and while the video circled around the internet, nobody believe that Harris was a less-skilled basketball player because an amateur scored on him in a street game.
At the end of the day, Nike is trying to protect their brand and their superstar but this kind of shady activity is going to hurt them more than the actual video would have. While James getting dunked on at his own camp may not display him in the best light, the brand Nike has been shed in a worse light since they now look like FBI agents forcing regular fans to give up their video memories.
I for one think the video could be spun in Nike’s and LeBron’s favor. Why not let people see that video, it could inspire countless youngsters that may not believe they have what it takes to ever be up to The King’s status. James could come out and say that “Yea I got dunked on, props to the youngster”.
BetUS is so determined to find a copy of that video, they are offering up $50,000 to anyone who can produce a tape of that day so that everyone can see that LeBron is indeed human and that in the world of sports, anything is possible.
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