LeBron James is typically one of the most outspoken players in sports when it comes to social issues, but we haven’t heard a whole lot from the Los Angeles Lakers star since three days of playoff games were postponed. It’s possible LeBron is irritated with how things are being handled, but apparently his behavior has been a source of frustration for some of his peers.
James reportedly walked out of a meeting on Wednesday night that took place after the Milwaukee Bucks decided to boycott their game. Shams Charania of The Athletic reports that LeBron supported the Bucks and the boycott, but he was bothered by players and the league having no set plan for how to proceed. LeBron felt better about where things stood the next day, so he was more vocal during a meeting on Thursday. However, he may not have done a great job of expressing his feelings.
According to ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, some younger players were bothered by how LeBron spoke to them during Wednesday’s meeting before he abruptly left.
Stephen A Smith says LeBron James left players and owners 'turned off'
"He was speaking out of pocket and was talking to players in a fashion that really turned some of these young cats off . . . He came across as if he was the King with some crown."
( ESPN) pic.twitter.com/21ZkqCXzkz
— NBA Central (@TheNBACentral) August 28, 2020
“The younger generation of players were not having what they were hearing from LeBron James because of the fashion in which he spoke to them,” Smith said. “When he stormed out, I was told it was, in part, because of that. He sort of came off like, ‘I got mine, I don’t need this,’ and walked out.”
Then on Thursday, Smith says LeBron “turned everybody off” when he gave a long-winded speech at the end of a meeting that everyone thought was in the books.
“When everybody thought the meeting was over, LeBron James grabs the mic and, from what I’m told, talks for about 15 minutes,” Smith said. “He’s talking for about 15 minutes in a fashion that turned everybody off because they had already agreed to what they were going to do moving forward. He was talking about ‘the guys beneath me — I have to look out for the guys beneath me.’ … He came across as if he was the king with some crown.”
None of this is a good look for LeBron. At a time when players are trying to show they are unified, the reports about LeBron make it seem like he is adamant about being the center of attention.
Smith’s information about LeBron isn’t the only unflattering report we have heard about the way a player carried himself during meetings in Orlando this week.
H/T Big Daddy
