Player Haiting…?
If I've said it once, I've said it a hundred times... I love Shaquille O'Neal. But this attitude at the moment regarding LeBron James' participation, (or lack thereof) in this year's Sprite Slam Dunk Competition is pathetic.
He's calling out the likes of Vince Carter and Kobe Bryant to participate when neither of them has been near the event participation-wise in approx 10 years. He also claims that meeting those conditions is the only way James will compete. I say get a life and stop clinging on to the limelight Shaq! Then on top of that, he has the mouth to suggest the prize money can be halved between the winner and Haiti.
Wow.
When we were all in shock regarding the tragedy that still is Hurricane Katrina, Kenny "the Ninja Jet" Smith assembled a sensational crew of stars to play the "relief game" in Houston. This took approximately 24 hours to organize and as much money as could be donated was thrown into the proverbial hat.
What's different about Haiti?
I know what you're thinking. If every player throws his wallet open for every single cause, the players will have no money left. To that, I call B.S. It's safe to say that the NBA in general, let alone the players, have plenty of cash to make a difference.
As Ryan put it, The NBA Cares... about themselves.
The 2010 All Star Game is about to be played in front of possibly the largest Basketball attendance in living history with potentially 100,000 seats available and in a stadium that cost some $1.3 billion dollars to construct.
This building cost $1.3 billion dollars...
Is anyone else seeing the issue here?
Whether it's Haiti, Katrina, Africa or your local school or community, something is definitely out of sequence.
I think the NBA is on notice to really show something here. This is not a 30 second spiel on the water and food delivery in Detroit, or the "read to achieve" day in Cleveland or even the "drop dimes not pills" kids day in Atlanta. It's about a serious fund raising attempt.
Although Shaq may struggle with this, it's also not about Kobe, Shaq, VC or anyone dunking a Basketball. It's about the juggernaut that is the NBA and the fact that while players like Larry Hughes and Eddy Curry can "earn" more than $10m for 8 months work... we have a problem.
It's a bigger problem than this little white blogger can solve in one column... but just think about it.
Meanwhile, regarding the Slam Dunk Competition... hell, I suggest you give KryptoNate the ball for 15 minutes and get people to phone and text to pledge money on every missed dunk. We'll have raised enough for another new Cowboys' Stadium by the time it's finished.
KryptoNate! The potential savior of Haiti... and quite frankly any other cause depending on how much people pledge...