LeBron still whining he did nothing wrong by not shaking hands!

[nickagneta]

When asked by a reporter if he regretted not shaking hands since it gave him his first "black eye" in the court of public opinion, James said: "I still haven't had a black eye, for one. Two, I don't regret anything that I do. The only thing I apologize for that night is not doing the media [session, after the game].

"The media, your ... job don't start until ours' finish. You guys can't report and write you guys' story until we take a shower, until we come out and sit on the podium. That's the only thing I apologize for. As far as shaking hands, it's something that is not done in the NBA. If it was something like tennis, after tennis, you play, you win, you lose, you go to the center and shake hands, it happens every game in tennis."

James is convinced the reason the story drew so much attention over the past few months was due to the fact he blew off the obligatory media session after the Game 6 loss in Orlando.

"In basketball, you look at 82 regular-season games, it's easy, guys are gonna shake hands, the fact that [I didn't] do the media [session], I think that's why [the story] was all blown up, and I apologize for that, but I will not apologize for shaking nobody's hand," he said. "You never accept losing, ever."

When the reporter reminded James that most players usually shake hands at the end of a playoff series, James bristled again. "No you don't, no you don't," he responded.

After a few more seconds of back and forth, James continued to try to explain his position. "Teamwork has nothing to do with shaking hands," James said. "I'm not a poor sport at all. You can ask anyone that knows me, I'm not a poor sport at all. Who brought up the rule that shaking hands, that's what you're supposed to do? No one shakes hands at the end of series all the time. No one does that. No one does that at all."

http://sports.espn.go.com/chicago/news/story?id=4392572

Apparently the hours and hours of video that can be shown to LeBron of teams shaking hands after a series ends is unconvincing. Maybe someone should show them to him. Unless of course Nike has confiscated all of that video footage and that's why Lebron claims it never happens and why no one has shown it to him.

[dark_lord]

personally, i dont think its a big deal if he doesnt shake hands.

[BudweiserCeltic]

I don't care about this either. In fact, I don't think that our patriarch Red Auerbach would care either... If not mistaken he would even preffer for our players not to shake hands after loses.

With all that said, LeBron is a cry baby and quite a loser.

[nickagneta]

While I think he should have shaken hands the point isn't still if he should or shouldn't have, it's that he can't just let it go.

"I still haven't had a black eye, for one. Two, I don't regret anything that I do. The only thing I apologize for that night is not doing the media [session"

All these months later wouldn't a simple, "I believe I've addressed that already. Next question." been a lot more savvy on his part. Instead he goes on and on and, at least in print, looks like a cry baby who can't admit he is wrong.

[TradeProposalDude]

I think that LeBron is the most arrogant athlete in the NBA. But he is still young, and has time to repair his slightly broken image. Why I say it's slightly damaged is this. Lots of NBA fans have "witnessed" his consistent yet questionable trips to the FT line on a gamely basis. We've seen him call the Cavs a "LeBron James team." We all know he can't stand any sight of negative publicity which infringes on his conceived infallibility. Any tape that reveals he was dunked on must and will be confiscated by none other than LBJ himself, even though it's something that people would forget within no time after watching.

Most of all, you can see how hard he tries to mold himself into a character that nobody can handle. Not Cavs fans. Not Kobe. Not the NBA. Not David Stern.

Like Kobe, who also had issues with an inflated ego, he will probably settle into a more refined, mature character who will lead his team to at least one or two titles before his prime is up.

[gar]

We are all Witnesses

Lebron is human!

Still no excuse given someone of his stature/influence.

[jdpapa3]

I actually respect him more. The fact that he didn't change his stance on it to be politically correct is cool.

[guava_wrench]

I actually respect him more. The fact that he didn't change his stance on it to be politically correct is cool.

I feel similarly. The guy is clearly competitive and wants to win. Much better than the attitude of someone like Vince Carter, who would likely be laughing and joking with the opponents.

[johncul]

We are all Witnesses

Lebron is human!

Still no excuse given someone of his stature/influence.

I still get a kick thinking about the t-shirt I saw saying "Nike won't let us be witnesses".

[johnnyrondo]

When the C's knock the Cavs out next Spring this debate will rear its ugly head once again. 

[budMovin]

Sportsmanship is overrated. Supposedly it sets a good example for the younger people watching...but...meh. Sportsmanship and "everyone gets a trophy day" are silly ideas that we give to our kids on how the real world works (gogo social Darwinism). I think the story should be: Lebron's teammates insulted us with such a lackluster effort in the conference finals.

What ever happened to judging athletes on their excellence instead of their manners? All you here in the world of sports is: Who has an inflated ego? Who did this? Who did that? ...Did we admire the Celtics in the Russell era because they were "good sports" or because they were an unstoppable force that defined excellence? I personally blame ESPN and their nonsensical "journalism" as the reason why these silly stories make the headlines.

If I was Lebron I would have stormed off the court too (and then asked to be traded to a team that had someone better than Sideshow Bob at the PF). I never liked him; but, a non-handshake...really?

[ToppersBsktball10]

big deal. it's a business. Some teams go into the locker room before the games even over.

[kheeko]

When the C's knock the Cavs out next Spring this debate will rear its ugly head once again. 

I sure hope so, that brutal beating I beleive the last game we played the Cavs was disgusting

[jackson_34]

If he doesn't want to shake hands, he doesn't have to. That's the bottom line.

I was always told to be humble in defeat and show respect to your fellow competitor and it always seemed the best way to do so is a quick shake of the hand at the end of a game. It's not like they expect you to hang around the court for anything else.

[celticmaestro]

No big deal. He's a bad loser and an arrogant idiot. I think he'll shake our hands next year. It'll be his last game as a Cavalier so he wont want it to end under a cloud (obviously, with defeat being bad enough).