Lebron James gets roasted after Cavs collapse
Predicatably pundits have begun their roasting of NBA MVP LBJ (c'mon, there are too many acronyms in sports, let's keep calling him LeBron James) after this past weekend's inevitable loss to the Orlando Magic for the right to get to the league finals.
James walked off the court, shaking his head but not his hand towards the victorious Magic, prompting criticism he should have showed more sportsmanship after his team's upset series loss to Orlando.
What was worse for James than the failed handshake was his decision to blow off the post-game interview session, allowing the media to pile on the usual voluble James for his disappearing act after the playoffs.
While we don't condone the lack of sportsmanship; hey, this isn't hockey and the teams don't line up to congratulate each other after the series ends. But James should have known better than to allow the media and the blogosphere an opportunity to rip him for 48 hours before he agreed to speak to reporters.
In our training sessions for both the NBA, colleges and Olympians, we emphasize the need to get your side of things out in public even when things didn't go your way. It's easy to talk to reporters when you win -- a more serious challenge is when you lose. Had James spent even a couple of minutes in the post-game interview room -- even if he didn't take any questions and just made a statement -- he would have fed the media beast and prevented the video loop of him walking off the court in disgust. We often show a tape of one of our former clients, Mitch Williams, sitting down and answering every question after he surrendered the World Series winning home run to Joe Carter back in the 90s. As tough as it was for Williams, he got great press for not ducking out or hiding in the training room after what was a much more difficult situation than James faced in Orlando.
Obviously PR and media staffs urge coaches and athletes to follow the path to the interview room; we re-enforce this as former reporters by reminding them that most media just want to get their sound bites and quotes and file their stories. The vast majority of reporters don't have agendas and are just looking to complete their tasks. By not providing the media with any counter to what they saw, the negative reports began immediately and are likely to continue for weeks.
James had been a solid role model for our trainings on college campuses for how to handle tough questions; now he slides over to the side of what not to do when you lose.
James walked off the court, shaking his head but not his hand towards the victorious Magic, prompting criticism he should have showed more sportsmanship after his team's upset series loss to Orlando.
What was worse for James than the failed handshake was his decision to blow off the post-game interview session, allowing the media to pile on the usual voluble James for his disappearing act after the playoffs.
While we don't condone the lack of sportsmanship; hey, this isn't hockey and the teams don't line up to congratulate each other after the series ends. But James should have known better than to allow the media and the blogosphere an opportunity to rip him for 48 hours before he agreed to speak to reporters.
In our training sessions for both the NBA, colleges and Olympians, we emphasize the need to get your side of things out in public even when things didn't go your way. It's easy to talk to reporters when you win -- a more serious challenge is when you lose. Had James spent even a couple of minutes in the post-game interview room -- even if he didn't take any questions and just made a statement -- he would have fed the media beast and prevented the video loop of him walking off the court in disgust. We often show a tape of one of our former clients, Mitch Williams, sitting down and answering every question after he surrendered the World Series winning home run to Joe Carter back in the 90s. As tough as it was for Williams, he got great press for not ducking out or hiding in the training room after what was a much more difficult situation than James faced in Orlando.
Obviously PR and media staffs urge coaches and athletes to follow the path to the interview room; we re-enforce this as former reporters by reminding them that most media just want to get their sound bites and quotes and file their stories. The vast majority of reporters don't have agendas and are just looking to complete their tasks. By not providing the media with any counter to what they saw, the negative reports began immediately and are likely to continue for weeks.
James had been a solid role model for our trainings on college campuses for how to handle tough questions; now he slides over to the side of what not to do when you lose.
Posted by Randy Minkoff at 6/2/2009 11:00 AM 
Categories: uncategorized
Tags: shaking hands Talking to the media
Categories: uncategorized
Tags: shaking hands Talking to the media
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