The Milwaukee Post

June 28, 2013 • Milwaukee Post • 11 LeBron James has qualities of a nice guy Character on and off the court differs from other superstars I like LeBron James. I like him. I don't like him because he's the best basketball player in the world. I don't like him because he's been part of the championship team the past two NBA seasons. I like him because he seems like a decent person. I like what he says after the Heat win games. I like what he says after they lose games. I hear from so many people that he's a self-absorbed egomaniac. I don't see it. I know he made a huge mistake when he made "the decision" and talked about winning "not five, not six, not seven" championships. That declaration was three years ago. I haven't seen any actions that would indicate he is as self-centered as it seemed that night. He still seems fragile at times on the court. He's often compared to Michael Jordan, but he's no Michael Jordan. Only last year in game six against Boston did "HOMER" wrong. He wouldn't be the first athlete to be one person in private and a much nicer person in front of the media and the general public. I just don't think it's the case. He hasn't acted like a jerk on or off the court since losing in the NBA Finals in 2011. He needed to improve his jump shot, and he improved his jump shot. He needed to improve his post-up moves, and he improved his post-up moves. He does whine when a call doesn't go his way. So what? It only makes him the same as just about every other great player in the history of the game. He gets favorable calls from the officials. Again, even if it's so, it only means he's getting the same treatment as every superstar in the past 25 years. If he has a weakness on the court, it might be he is too nice and tries to get his teammates involved when he should take over a game. That is not the kind of flaw often associated with an egomaniac superstar who believes everyone else is lucky to be in his presence. LeBron James seems like a nice guy, and it's based totally on what I've seen he play and act like Jordan. In that game, he was as intense as Jordan was every game. James has played great playoff games since then, but not with the same intensity as that game. He's closer to Aaron Rodgers than Michael Jordan in intensity. James doesn't want to control things. He just wants to make it easier for his teammates. I don't understand why so many people hate him and root against him. His actions don't suggest such anger is justified. They might be jealous. They might hate him and the Miami Heat because they bought back-to-back championships. They might dislike James because he had been touted as one of the best players ever even before he won his first title. They might hate him because he's compared to Jordan even though LeBron has only two titles and Jordan has six rings. There are more than enough reasons and some might be justified. But, even if it's the case, it should be balanced with the additional belief that James seems like a pretty good guy. I don't know him, so I could be terribly on SPORTS STEVE "The HOMER" TRUE and heard from him over the past three years. It's important that one of those years was a huge disappointment because it's easy to be nice when everything is going perfectly. He wasn't a jerk even when they suffered the disappointing finals loss to Dallas. I expect that I will get more disagreement over this opinion than any I've presented in a long time. It's like supporting Brett Favre's move to the Vikings. I like LeBron James even if all those who agree with me can fit in a Smart car. (Steve "The Homer" True, host of "Homer and Thunder Show," heard from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays on 540 ESPN, can be reached at homer@espnmilwaukee.com) 233051023 RED, WHITE AND BLUE DEALS CANELLA BRISA DO MAR GREEN!! 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