Did The Nike Gestapo Go Too Far Protecting King James?

[Bankshot]

Not justifying this in any way, but Jordan would have done the same thing.

Kobe would have done the same, without a doubt. I actually think a lot of NBA players would be adamant about keeping a similar video under raps.

I'm sure Lebron would be upset if a tape of Jawad Williams dunking on him was leaked on the internet, let alone a player from Xavier.

This is more about the general NBA culture of "maintaining a rep" than just Lebron being a prima dona, in my opinion.

It's unfortunate, but this is the modern day NBA.

You don't know that they would have done the same thing.

[huzy]

You don't know that they would have done the same thing.

You're right, I don't know. But who does?

However, I just finished reading "When Nothing Else Matters" by Michael Leahy. There is an exert from the book where Jordan is shooting around with Brendan Haywood and takes him to the hoop. Haywood blocks a dunk attempt and Jordan starts to scream, "foul...foul" until he notices the press looking at the two of them. Then Jordan proceeds to storm off the court.

In Paul Shirley's book "Can I keep my Jersey?" he tells a story of Kobe blocking his shot and then telling him to get the (fill in the blank) off his court, during a pre season workout.

While I don't know that they would do the same, I'm comfortable infering that they both had similar superiority complexes to that of Lebron.

He's not the first and only superstar that is protected by a sneaker label and not the first who would try to stop an embarrassing video from reaching the public.     

[indeedproceed]

Short story with wide ranging ramifications.

The word when I arrived at the LeBron James Skills Academy was that Monday's best highlight came in a pick-up game featuring the college players and James himself. According to the collection of NBA scouts and other folks here, Xavier's Jordan Crawford dunked on James pretty good. So I had to find out whether it was true.

"It happened, and it was bad," said Michael Gilchrist, the top player in the Class of 2011. "That was something to see."

Then....

You want to see video of Xavier's Jordan Crawford dunking on LeBron James? If so, too bad. Because you're not going to see it. Thanks to Nike.

Turns out, there were at least two cameras rolling Monday night when Crawford dunked on James during a pick-up game here at the LeBron James Skills Academy. It was a two-handed jam, the kind that would've circulated quickly on YouTube. But Nike officials eliminated that possibility shortly after the dunk happened by allegedly confiscating tapes from various cameramen.

Freelance photographer Ryan Miller was one of the cameramen shooting the game. He told CBSSports.com that Nike Basketball Senior Director Lynn Merritt took his tape.

"He just said, 'We have to take your tape,'" Miller said. "They took it from other guys, too."

Worth noting is that there is no policy against filming at the LeBron James Skills Academy, and Miller said he had been filming all day without incident. Nobody ever told him to stop. Nobody ever said there was a problem ... until after Crawford dunked on James.

"LeBron called Lynn over and told him something," Miller said. "That's how I knew his name was Lynn. LeBron said, 'Hey, Lynn. Come here.'"

Minutes later, Miller said Merritt demanded his tape.

"There's nothing I can think of besides LeBron just not wanting it online," Miller said. "It's a good story to tell people, I guess. But then again, I'm kind of (angry). I lost my tape."

Did Nike go too far? It was their skill camp, their prerogative. They didn't break any laws here, but is this about more than that? Lebron James is a basketball player, no a god. He is fallible. Pretending anything else is borderline crazy. And the thought that james himself ordered this? Something about this stinks really, really bad.

I feel like every time you step out on a court its a measure of yourself as a player. If you allow yourself to get dunked on, live with it. It happens to everyone.

[Donoghus]

If its true, its a pretty poor reflection on Nike & Lebron James, IMO.

[dark_lord]

thats terrible!  getting dunked on happens, even to the best.  taking tapes in an attempt to hide it is sad and pathetic.

[crownsy]

More telling to me is that james, if this story is to be believed (and i see no reason it wouldn't) seems to have ordered the tape confiscated to protect his precious image.

Come on lebron, be a man, you got dunked on, it happens, even to the messiah.

We are all witnesses....unless the king doesn't want you to see it.  

Pretty petty act IMO.

[yall hate]

I dont even fault Nike...whatever, he is their investment.

But if Lebron called the guy over to get him to confiscate the tape, well then to be perfectly honest I lost respect for Lebron.  Thats sad

Edit: looks like Crownsy beat me by 2 seconds with a post of similar nature...I demand that this thread be confiscated

[Hoyo de Monterrey]

Woooooow.... what a baby. This is a sad, sad thing if it came from James, and I still think it's sad on Nike's part even if he is their investment. Why didn't they just tell Crawford if he made it they'd sign him too and release that tape? We could all be Crawford's witnesses too.

[Shoot the J]

If true, the circulation of this story makes LBJ look much worse than someone dunking on him.   

[indeedproceed]

Nobody is perfect. Babe Ruth struck out. Joe Namath was sacked. Dan Marino was picked off.

I cannot believe that LeBron is so insecure that he did this. Ironically, what would've ended up happening is that nothing negative happens to Lebron, but Jordan Crawford from Xavier would have drowned under an ocean of hype.

[BudweiserCeltic]

If I were LeBron, now that I have control of the tapes, I would make the best out of it and release them under my own terms. Maybe make something fun of it, with himself introducing the jam.

[cdif911]

You don't know that they would have done the same thing.

You're right, I don't know. But who does?

However, I just finished reading "When Nothing Else Matters" by Michael Leahy. There is an exert from the book where Jordan is shooting around with Brendan Haywood and takes him to the hoop. Haywood blocks a dunk attempt and Jordan starts to scream, "foul...foul" until he notices the press looking at the two of them. Then Jordan proceeds to storm off the court.

In Paul Shirley's book "Can I keep my Jersey?" he tells a story of Kobe blocking his shot and then telling him to get the (fill in the blank) off his court, during a pre season workout.

While I don't know that they would do the same, I'm comfortable infering that they both had similar superiority complexes to that of Lebron.

He's not the first and only superstar that is protected by a sneaker label and not the first who would try to stop an embarrassing video from reaching the public.     

the Shirley book is a must read - if its not on your summer reading list, put it on now bloggers

[celticinorlando]

the more i hear and see from james the less i like him

[Scalablob990]

The fun will really begin when someone blood tests this 300 lb pile of *pure* muscle and they find something odd in there 

[PosImpos]

I REALLY don't like LeBron.