11.17.10
The Mollycoddling Of LeBron Extends To Miami
On Tuesday, Esquire’s Scott Raab was denied media credentials by the Miami Heat’s head of media relations, Tim Donovan. Raab was informed by Donovan, “you are no longer welcome at our building.” It’s a fascinating way to deal with LeBron James’ critics, though surely Donovan is aware if such a policy was extended to those disparaging Chris Bosh, the Heat would risk playing to empty arena.
I suspect that Tim objected to something I wrote yesterday. I referred to LeBron James as the Whore of Akron ” maybe that was it. Or maybe Tim doesn’t think much of Herman Melville, which wouldn’t shock me at all. Tim is severe, unsmiling, more of a Nathaniel Hawthorne fan.
But I can’t blame Mr. Donovan, because it shouldn’t be his job to credential me. I’m writing about LeBron James and the Miami Heat as a guy from Cleveland. I don’t think the good folks in the Cavs media-relations office would credential a Miami writer who referred to Anderson Varejao as the Colatina Cocksman. Not that I think Tim Donovan’s doing the right thing; I think he is just doing what he gets paid to do.
I’m more interested in the first part of Tim Donovan’s e-mail: “You are no longer welcome at our building.” The Heat play Wednesday and Friday; I plan to attend both games as a civilian with a ticket in hand ” God knows there are plenty of tickets to be had ” and it’s probably too late to buy a LeBron James mask. If I’m lucky, I might be the first fan in NBA history to be tossed out of an arena for writing.
I have heard a few interviews with Raab regarding his vitriol toward LeBron, and the thing that jumps out most about this guy is how totally self-aware he is about it. He knows and admits that his hatred of LeBron is totally crazy and irrational, but that as a lifelong Clevelander, he is unable to really control it. Pretty interesting guy.
There was also:
http://twitter.com/#!/Scott_Raab/status/3923020150210560