The Most Selfish Man in Sports

"Yeah, I know it!"

No, it’s not LeBron James, like many of you have been led to believe over the past several months. How can a man be considered selfish for exercising his right to play for another team after his contract has expired. Lebron played in Cleveland for 6 years and left everything on the court night in and night out. He showed up on time and was a fan favorite during his stretch with the Cavs. He never complained about going to the worst team in the league that he eventually made one of the most popular and productive teams in the NBA.

 When it was time for him to make a decision the Cavs organization made it very easy for him. Within days of their playoff loss Head Coach Mike Brown was fired and within two weeks the General Manager Danny Ferry quit. Cleveland made no attempt to sign free agents to play with James and did nothing in the draft. I know that people were upset with “The Decision”. That was a power move that few players have ever had the opportunity to pull off. The media set that day in motion for an entire year. He would’ve been crazy not to have taken advantage of the build up. Remember ladies and gentleman it’s called business and he did a lot of it that night. He sold a boat load of shoes and jerseys with the Miami Heat’s logo and colors on it. Not all business moves are going to be popular with the general public because not everyone understands business. That’s why we use the term “shrewd". It’s not called basketball it’s called professional basketball. First and foremost he’s got to get paid and that doesn't just include his contract to play basketball. He's got endorsement deals with several companies and they all want to get paid too.

Now Brett on the other hand has violated all ethical sports codes of team chemistry and loyalty among players. Let me explain. After the 2006 season with the Green Bay Packers, Brett told the organization that he was considering retirement. Now just two years before, the Packers drafted a kid named Aaron Rogers to be the heir-apparent to Brett. So if Brett is on his way out they’ve got to get this kid ready, right? When Rogers was drafted, Brett stated publicly that he wasn’t going to bring Rodgers up to speed because it wasn’t his job to baby sit a rookie. Now everyone knows that it’s always been the veterans job to show the rookie how to settle into the NFL, especially when he plays the same position. Nobody paid attention to that but me I guess. So during the spring and summer of 2007 Brett never told the team whether he was playing or not. That puts the organization in a bad spot because they would need to know something before the draft. If Brett’s not going to play they would have to draft a back up or at least sign a free agent, right? Well he said nothing until camp started.

He did the same thing during the off season prior to the 2008 season and finally the Packers got tired of the foolishness and released him stating that they were moving forward with Rogers. He went on to play with the Jets and then contemplated retirement all over again. Now the man has the right to do that. However, he can’t hold teams hostage in the process. For the next two years he’s held the Vikings hostage until midway through training camp. He’s also sat at home until his teammates have flown to Mississippi to beg him to play. Can anybody remember when he showed up to camp in 2009 on a Monday and started on that following Friday? How do you think that went over in the locker room? Selfishness is putting yourself before the team and not doing what’s in the best interest of the organization. Not making a decision on national television to play somewhere else after your contract is up. If it’s constantly about you and the team suffers as a result, then who’s selfish? Just ask the Vikings right now. What’s your opinion?


Holla At Ya Boy!
Jay Graves
Twitter:@jaygravesreport