I guess Lebron missed those lessons growing up on how to handle winning and losing. That was extremely disrespectful, and you wouldn’t see MJ doing something like that…or Kobe for that matter.

To me, these coaches are essentially trying to get the other guy fired. Plain and simple. If Mike Brown loses to these other coaches more than he wins, he will lose his job. Same with the players. If that was your life, everyday, would be in the mood to give hugs? Is a fake handshake, with no meaning behind it better?

Lebron James is far from fighting for his job or salary. And Mike Brown’s job depends far more on Lebron James than on Stan Van Gundy. If bit players like Daniel Gibson can stick around and shake hands why can’t Lebron?

Listen, I think Lebron is a great player and a great guy, but I still think his actions were wrong. So what if the handshake is fake? It’s tradition and it’s manners.

finally someone in this world has a damn brain. these people going off on lebron for not shaking hands is just unreal. i thought this was a free country if someone doesnt want to shake hands then they shouldnt have to plain and simple. i mean its a handshake for heavens sake get over it.

Is why if Lebron is such a winner and so against shaking hands with someone who has just beaten him, why he would lower himself to such a level as to shake hands with “losers” such as the Detroit Pistons and Atlanta Hawks when his team beats them? I mean, aren’t these teams just as eager next season to get back at him and beat him, thus making the handshakes “fake”? Why would he even want to lower himself to accept a handshake from them if his philosophy is like he stated earlier this week? Maybe he feels it’s okay for others to congratulate and shake his hands and wish him well in the next series, but it’s not okay for him to do it? Because he’s the “king” after all. They should pay penance to him anyway… and next time, do it on their knees!

Now I didn’t really have the time to read everybodies comments but I just wanted to throw my 2 cents up in the air. LeBron said something in his interview a couple days after the game which made me understand his frustration and not judge him off the bat as a poor sport, as he has displayed great sportsmanship in the past. One time I believe we CAN give him a pass, but the point i’m tryin to get across is if someone beat you to a pulp you wouldn’t stick around to shake their hands. Now I know i’m talkin about a completely different situation but the concept is there. If LeBron didn’t stick around for an interview or hand shakes don’t think right away that it was because he was being a soar loser. Maybe his frustration, as i’m sure all of you get that frustrated in sports, finally got to him with his OWN team and not the other team, and he had nothing nice to say or he might have even thought that he would have said some things out of frustration in his interview about his team mates that might have not of gone over so well with his team so he decided to collect himself and give himself time to understand things a little better. Basically if i were to sum my 2 cents up into one sentence it would go a little something like frustration can cause you to say things that you dont mean due to lack of understanding your situation. I think at the level of sorrow and frustration he was feeling he made the right choice, otherwise he could have done or said some things he truly didn’t mean.

Who really cares that King James didn’t shake “Supermans” hand. Does it really matter to anyone except ESPN analyist anyway. If you look back at any old film on Jordan, during his first 6 years in the playoffs he wasn’t a good sport either. The great competitors live and play by different rules. Jordan was constantly fighting his teammates in practice, ask Sun’s GM Steve Kerr. I don’t really care that King James didn’t shake Lil Shaq’s hand after a lucky series. What I did like was not seeing James at all after the game. After an embarassing loss you wanna change and get the heck outta dodge. I don’t want to hear an interview by Lebron. He did the right thing, he left the interviews to the supporting cast who ultimatley is the reason they were in that place to begin with.

How pathetic that this paid player gets the slack for not shaking hands. Yes it is a sport but let us not forget it is a business and it is their job. I mean SERIOUSLY if I ever lose a promotion to another individual I should be a good sport and shake their hands…NOT
Sports fanatics should be more disgusted with the players that break the law and get away with it over and over again.

by not shaking hands after the game, sends a message to the youth that this type of behavior is suitable. If anything with as much media as this has attracted its bad for basketball old and young. Playing basketball my whole life and into college the one thing no matter how mad after a game you lost if you lost the game or the team, you have friends on the other side of the court and you have to shake their hand and tell them good game. NO MATTER WHAT. so this is a big issue to fans all over the league.

I am a big fan of Lebron. I don’t believe just because you can bounce a ball, jump high, run fast or are on television that you are a role model. My big problem with walking off the court without a quick handshake is that it’s disrespectful to his opponents and to the game. He is a great player but he is not bigger than the game. If Michael Jordan, Wilt, Kobe and the other greats can do it then he can to. I am still a Lebron fan but it just shows that like the rest of us he is still human and makes mistakes. Take a lesson from boxers Lebron….. after 12 rounds of trying to knock their opponents out cold they still respect the battle and the other warrior with a glove tap, hug and a few words. I didn’t see him turn down handshakes from the two teams the Cavs swept!

…the money is not an excuse for poor sportsmanship. I am an extremely competitive person and the my frustrations are not any different because I am not getting paid. Easy to be congratulated when you win but requires better sportsmanship to congratulate someone who beats you. I HATE LOSING but still always congratulate my opponents when I lose because THEY deserve it. I use LeBron’s example to me kids of what NOT to do. I have seen kids do this at all ages and they are typically the ones that seem to be the most spoiled (ASSUME and EXPECT to get the win).

He made a mistake and he (and others who support him) should admit it as it was in poor judgment. He has been given extensive fanfare since before he ever stepped on an NBA court and hopefully he isn’t assuming victory will be given to him (like spoiled kids I witnessed) and proves this is only a one-time situation.

As for names for this section, how about Quick Clips or Quick Quips

As for the LeBron issue, I totally agree with the author. This is a total non-issue. What I find crazy is that in the NHL, it is more of a code or a rule to shake hands after a series ends, but there have even been instances where players didn’t shake hands and it didn’t receive as many kilobytes of coverage that this is. I believe sportsmanship is important, but it is up to the parents and youth coaches to teach the children that and what that is. How many of us work in a competitive industry? When lawyers finish a highly contested case, do they ALWAYS shake hands? Rarely do they ever. Do contractors shake hands with each other when one gets a bid and the others don’t? Do you shake hands with a co-worker after they receive a raise and you don’t? In the interest of competition, everyone of these situations would require a handshake to show the loser to be a “good sport” about it. How many times have we seen the victors celebrate and not receive the customary handshake? We had no problems with it then. The man has the weight of a city and (with recent sports history, i.e. OSU’s losses in the Big Games that is always documented) the state on his shoulders. For this young man to meet and surpass almost all of the many expectations WE, Joe Q. Public, have for him, no matter how ridiculous some of those expectations have been, we need to cut the young man some slack.

LeBron may have missed a few lessons, but, he’s also not used to losing! Sure, he’s lost in the playoffs for a few years now, but the guys is a winner. I also agree with ArmyStrong that money is no excuse to be a bad sport.

My website just debated this topic, too. Please check it out. It’s divided into 3 opinions, and you can vote for who you agree with.

Now that the series is over, there was a debate about whether LeBron should have shaken hands with the Magic and spoken to the media after the series. You can vote on what you think LeBron should have done!

http://www.thesportsdebates.com