Shake Hands or Flex Finger

Recently LeBron James was fined $25,000 for skipping the Game 6 post game press conference. A lot was made about James leaving the court early & not shaking his opponent’s hand. Notice though he was fined for passing on the press conference & not the post game hand shake. What message does it send to me? The same one you’ll read about in this blog…who cares?

Now before you read any further, this is strictly my opinion, Russ Rosario. My co-host Joe Sarno COMPLETELY disagrees with me on this point. Now on to my view…

Once again the mass media whore jumped on this as if it was some egregious act. See, I myself like what the Pistons did in 1991 & walked off the court on the Bulls. I don’t like the friendly hand shaking GARBAGE. Don’t give me this sportsmanship crap. I just got beat, I am frustrated, the last thing I’m going to do is congratulate the next man. Truthfully, I don’t want to see sportsmanship in today's sport. I want heated competition while still respecting my opponent. In my opinion one doesn't have to shake hands or congratulate to show respect. It should be understood really. So often the media runs with stories of players on rival teams being “too friendly” to each other. So which way do you want it? Don’t say you can hate a rival & be a good sport. The hell with being a good sport. I care about ME winning. I don’t want to wish anyone else good luck. I just lost, I could give a damn if another team or player wins or lose. As a child I would walk off the field after losses REGULARLY. Of course once I was benched I took part in the hated post game festivities.

My point is this. I don’t want anyone else to pawn off thoughts on their idea of morality to me if I don’t agree with it. Much like the media & others have done to James the past 2 weeks. To me, sportsmanship is meaningless & should be a choice. It isn't mandated by the NBA to shake hands after a game, nor should it be mandated by the media, society, or the fan base. It doesn’t add anything to the game, in fact, I would argue it takes away from the competitive spirit of the game. I don’t want to see the Francisco Rodriguez walking over to Jimmy Rollins as he mutters, “great game man” or “better luck next time”. SCREW THAT. Pump a fist or hang your head as you walk off the field. You are hated rivals engaged in competition. Do you really want to see Derek Jeter hug Jonathan Papelbon & say, "good luck in the Fall Classic kid, you earned it..."

So i commend James for taking an unpopular stance & passing on the post game hand shake. Now I do take exception to James skipping the post game press conference. You have to answer questions & give us your thoughts & views as to what happened during the game & throughout the series (even though it was pretty obvious). In short…if you’re the King, answer your Kingdom. Ignore the peasants criticism on the congratulatory hand shake.