Archive for Culture
Thoughts on LeBron’s Decision
Posted by: | CommentsThough I thought is a bit ridiculous that an entire show was devoted to the announcement of Lebron Jame’s decision (maybe I should capitalize that ‘D’), I was, of course, tuned in for more or less the entire time. I missed a little bit of the action because there was a good episode of Matlock on the Hallmark movie channel. I used to watch Matlock all the time and couldn’t help but check the episode out even though I knew the outcome. But I digress. Or maybe I don’t.
Anyhow, more than anything else, I really walked away saddened by the entire thing. I honestly felt sorry for James, because of the intense pressure he was under with this decision. So many people’s hopes were wrapped up in him. No doubt because of his dollar and entertainment value, two things most Americans hold way too dear. And you can’t help but feel bad for Cleveland. That city has had it tough when it comes to sports, though this serves as yet another example of why we must be very careful not to put too much hope in a human being.
All that being said, there was one thing that LeBron said that really stood out to me (so much so that I had to make a blog post out of it…and that is saying something as of late). When asked what helped him most with his decision, he said it was his Mom who said that he had to make the decision that he believed was best for him, because no one else was going to bear the consequences of it but him.
Allow me to make a few comments.
First, it is partly true and alright in its own respect. He will have to bear the ultimate consequences for his decision, even though his decision certainly directly and indirectly affects a lot of people. And certainly, it’s usually not wise to go somewhere that you really don’t want to go or decide on a course of action that is repulsive to you. Pursuing your own happiness is not necessarily wrong.
Second, though it has some truth to it, I am inclined to believe that it is not the best advice to give someone making such a big decision. The reason is that no ones live unto themselves or dies unto themselves. The decisions we make can’t just be about us, because ultimately, they aren’t just about us. Though on the surface, it might seem like wisdom, it is not really wise to say that we decide best when we think most about ourselves. Or that we see clearest when we think most about our own happiness.
The reason this is true is that what we think will make us most happy often isn’t what really makes us most happy. In this context, it seems that LeBron believes he will be most happy where he has the most chance to win the most championships. Clearly, he said that he values winning more than the money. And his decision supports that. But will winning be enough? I’m not so sure.
So what would be enough? I can’t help but ask myself that question. If I were sitting in his shoes, what question would I ask myself and others in order to gain the clarity of thought I desire? Indeed, what question should I continually be asking myself now?
One keeps coming to mind: Where can I do the most good for the most people?
I am sure there are others you can ask, but in the end, I think this is a good question to continually return to. The reason I believe so is because I believe that contrary to popular opinion, spreading the most happiness is the means to finding the most happiness. Where can you do the most good for the most people? Wherever that is, it is probably the happiest place to be.
From a Christian perspective, we don’t neglect our desire for happiness. No way. We just say that happiness is not found in living unto yourself, but in using the gifts you have to serve the greatest good of the most people. What that means for LeBron, I frankly don’t know. He still may have ended up in Miami or could have legitimately gone a number of different places. Or stayed. Whatever. All I really know is that it is still a great question to ask.
Third and finally, I have had to keep asking myself: How would you like LeBron to have responded in this situation? What would have been most refreshing to you and good for the world in general?
One thing I know is that I am not refreshed by LeBron placing more emphasis on winning that money. The talking heads have already made a big deal out of this, but I am having difficulty understanding how the pursuit of winning is more worthy than the pursuit of money. How have we reached the point that the pursuit of winning over money (though he isn’t losing much if anything at all by the way) is now a worthy thing?
That being said, I think I would have become a devoted LeBron fan if he had used this show as his soapbox or for that matter, his pulpit. I think I would have jumped up and down on my couch if LeBron just said, “Jim Gray, thanks for your prepared questions and everything, but allow me to take a moment in order to address a few things. For the past however many months, there has been countless speculation about my decision and what is driving my decision. So I first off want to say that in the end, my worldwide brand, multiple championships and personal basketball legacy really aren’t that big of a deal. They don’t define me. They aren’t the reason I play. Contrary to popular belief, that is not what I am all about. And I am glad, because all of us value these things way too much.
I love the game of basketball and my desire is to enjoy it and play it to the best of my ability not simply to make money or to win, but to spread joy. Not only that, but I want to use the opportunities being a great basketball player gives me to do the same in other areas of life. In the end, what’s the big deal if I never win a championship? Does that make me a failure? Does that make me less of a man? Somehow we all think so, but I just want to take this opportunity to say that if we believe all of that, we believe a lie. It’s nonsense. What I do as a basketball player doesn’t define me.
So I have come to this decision. And I have made this decision knowing that I don’t know everything, so that I cannot be completely, 100% sure that it is the perfect call. But here I go. I have decided to play in…”
And if he said Miami and Jim Gray asks him why, he can make it simple and say, “Listen, it is going to be very difficult not playing in Cleveland, but the reality is that I believe I can enjoy the game most and play it best for the joy of most people by enjoying it and playing it alongside a few of my highly talented friends. It is something we always spoke of, so I am excited to take a shot at it.”
And if he said I am staying in Cleveland and Jim Gray asked him why, he could say, “Listen, it was a very difficult decision, but I have decided to stay in Cleveland and I am committed to being here whether we win a championship or not. I will strive for it, but if I never win one, so be it. My aim is to serve people well here, championship or not. If you think I am less a man for caring less about winning that others, well, I tend to think you are less a man for caring about winning too much. So we are even.”
And on and on it could go. And of course, I would love for him to ultimate say that he doesn’t care about all these things as much as most other people do because his identity is found in Jesus Christ. And that through Him, he is free from the need to win, though he certainly still wants to win. Now that would be about as good as I can imagine.
Could you imagine it? Could you imagine an athlete standing up and saying that? I tend to think it would have been good for him and indeed, the entire world. Don’t you?
But it didn’t happen. And it probably won’t. Which leaves me longing for a better day that the Lord promises is soon to come. A perfect day that keeps getting better forever. And desiring that day is the best place to be. So in that respect, the entire show served me well.
Banning Fast-Food Toys
Posted by: | CommentsHere’s the summary paragraph from the New York Times article.
In what it described as a blow against the fattening temptations of fast food, the board of supervisors in Santa Clara County, south of San Francisco, voted Tuesday to ban the promotional toys that often accompany child-size portions of cheeseburgers and chicken nuggets if those meals don’t meet certain nutritional standards.
From my vantage point, this is absolutely ridiculous. Here are a few thoughts on the vote and one thought on the comment from the McDonald’s spokesperson.
1) These supervisors need more work.
The fact that fast-food toys even got a vote serves to show me that either everything is perfect in Santa Clara County or these people have way too much time on their hands.
2) Is this really something that should be addressed by a board of supervisors? And is it something they should be able to ban?
If a company wants to sell fatty foods and put toys in a box for children along with those fatty-foods, don’t they have a right to do so? It’s not like they are forcing children to eat the food or forcing parents to buy it for them. Which leads to point number 3.
3) Do the toys tempt children to such an extent that their parents cannot say, “No”?
This is the big question for me, because I am sure there are some parents behind this vote. And I just don’t understand it. If you don’t want your children getting fat off fatty foods, then don’t give them fatty foods. You have a choice not to eat fast food. Eating at McDonald’s or Wendy’s or wherever is not mandatory. I know many parents don’t realize this nowadays, but it is possible and wise and very good to often tell your children, “No.” The reality is that if your kid is obese, it is usually your fault as the parent. Not all the time I realize (the kid might have some sort of disease, etc.), but most of the time, yes. After all, you buy the food and monitor what and when your child eats. Or you don’t (which may be the problem).
How many people are under the impression that eating fast food is good for you anyhow? Sure, low-income families may eat that food more, but the reality is, eating out at fast food restaurants is, in the end, more expensive than going to the local grocery store and managing a simple list. So the argument that you are protecting low-income families from obesity is ridiculous. They still have a choice, to eat or not to eat. The parents can still say ‘No’ to both themselves and their children. Mr. Yeager, who interestingly enough doesn’t not have children, doesn’t seem to understand this.
4) A note to McDonald’s: Don’t try to defend the toys by telling us that your “Happy Meals provide many of the important nutrients that children need.”
That is just ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous. So your food has zinc, iron, calcium and some protein. It also has 30 percent of your daily intake of fat (for an adult by the way). Just face up to the fact that your food isn’t the most nutritious. Don’t act as if I am a moron and try to convince me that it’s ok to give my children this food because it has zinc. Come on.
When I head to McDonald’s or any other fast-food joint, I am well aware that the food isn’t the best for me or my children. That is why I head there rarely. It’s a special treat. So I would rather have McDonald’s or whoever say, “We know our food isn’t equal to fruits and veggies. I am the spokesperson for McDonald’s and I don’t eat there every day (and I eat for free). And neither should you or your children.”
That would be much more refreshing and actually might get me to make a trip for some happy meals sometime in the next six months.
As you can tell, I was a bit fired up by this vote. No. I am not headed to Santa Clara anytime soon for Happy Meals, but a vote such as this just seems to give greater excuses for poor parenting and more power to government officials to monitor what is good for us. If we don’t want McDonald’s giving toys along with bad food, we don’t need a council vote. We just need to stop buying the Happy Meals. Or at least I think so.
The White Guy Bias – Concluding Remarks
Posted by: | CommentsI return to blogging today by concluding my month long series on the so-called White Guy Bias in the NBA. How I have managed to make a six-part series take a month, I will not comment upon. To remind you, I have already said that,
1) Everyone agrees that there is a white-guy bias in basketball. It is a running joke and oftentimes, true.
2) Our biases are much more powerful than we realize. Part 1 and Part 2.
3) The evaluation of International talent is not as cut-and-dry as it might sound. International players may even have an inevitable advantage in their ability to reach largely untouched markets for the NBA. A sound business strategy no doubt.
4) Athleticism is sometimes an over-valued trait in the NBA. The best teams are the most diverse (though usually they have players who are both great athletes and highly skilled).
So what have I learned from all of this? Well, I don’t think I have learned anything new, but I have been reminded of something I have known for quite some time.
It is this: who ends up playing or not playing in the NBA, white or black, American or International, is a very complicated matter and one that no one, except the Lord, can fully comprehend. There are just no easy answers when it comes to this question of who makes it and who doesn’t. There are social factors, business factors, talent and team factors, all sorts of factors at work.
I have known and heard of countless players who have NBA talent, but who have ended up on the streets. I have also played against many a player who has never made the NBA, who might even have gotten cut from summer league, but who is fully capable of performing there. I have even been that one guy (and would certainly like to be him again!) who has played in the NBA and has no doubt had other players at home saying about him, ‘I could outplay him right now!’ And you know, they may have been right. But all the various things lined up for me to play in the NBA. And so it is, or is not, for many others.
The reality is that in the basketball world that are players that are truly head and shoulders above the rest. You know who they are. Most times, they just cannot help but rise above the rest. They are so good that their talent paves the way for their own ideal playing situations. Then there are the second-tier individuals who are very, very good, obviously good, but just not as great as the best. They usually make it and if things line up perfectly for them, they can become top-tier stars.
In another group, the final and fullest group, there are players from all over the world who are fully capable of playing in the NBA, sometimes at a very high level, but who just need the perfect opportunity to make it happen. The right team, the right timing, the role, etc. And the reality is, they have very little to do with whether or not they ever get that opportunity. Numerous things have to line up in order for their dream to be realized. And to be maintained.
I count myself among that group. And I count it a tremendous blessing from God to have had the opportunity to play in the NBA. As I have mentioned, I would certainly enjoy playing there again, but I realize that the fact that I have played there doesn’t mean that I am better than everyone else who has not. That’s just not true. As is the case in any business, who makes it and who doesn’t is not defined solely on the basis of talent. Numerous other factors are at work. We have taken a look at a few of those factors, but though this series has lasted a month, you can be sure that we have only scratched the surface.
In the end, I still believe the NBA is the best basketball in the world. But I also believe it can still be better. I doubt any NBA executives will be knocking down my door for advice because of these posts, but at the very least, I hope they serve any who read them by giving insight into how they view and understand the NBA game and most importantly, life itself.
The White Guy Bias Part 5
Posted by: | CommentsToday I finally return to my series regarding the Outside the Lines video on the lack of white American players in the NBA. I believe this is my second to last post.
So far I have said that four specific things. First, there is clearly a stigma or preconception that white American players must overcome in order to play in today’s NBA. Everyone in the basketball world agrees about this. Second, that preconception or bias probably plays a much bigger role in the evaluation of talent than most basketball people think. I enlisted the help of Malcolm Gladwell to highlight why that is. Third, there is a definite possibility that NBA executives and scouts are over-estimating how good International talent actually is (over against both the white and black American players, because they are replacing both). And fourth, I believe that athleticism is valued to too great a degree in much of today’s current NBA.
Today I offer this:
Because the NBA is a business in pursuit of profit, the league is driven by market forces just like any other business. So also, the executives and scouts and managers, etc. are driven by the incentives given them, usually that of keeping their job or getting a better one. In short, evaluating talent and putting together a basketball team in the NBA is never as simple as it sounds.
This might seem like a very obvious thing, but from my standpoint, it is one that few people seem to truly consider when they look at the professional game or criticize their hometown team. I understand why. For I, like everyone else, grew up playing a game for the game itself. Usually, we play the game because we enjoy it. And we seek to become the best team we can be in order to simply enjoy accomplishing something together.
Few people really understand what it is like to compete for a living. That is, to play for pay. Or to be involved in any way, shape, or close form in that play for pay. As anyone who does so will tell you, professional sports is far from playing on the playground or playing in High School. It’s just an entirely different world because it has completely different incentives.
This is true not only for the players, but also for everyone else involved. The General Managers, coaches, scouts, league officials. Everyone. The game is not simply a game, because it is inevitably tied to the bottom line. It’s play, but not really. For true play is an end in and of itself. When you really play, you play just for the sake of play. You play to lose yourself in the joy of it. And in professional play, if you fail to make money, your play stops. Or if your team loses, you might well end up losing your job. This changes everything.
I could go on a whole lot more about this from a player’s standpoint, but right now, I want us to consider what that means for the decision makers involved.
First, consider what this means for the league executive or the rules committee for that matter. Are you concerned about the purity of the game and what rule changes or emphases leads to the most beautiful form of basketball? Maybe. But if your ideas don’t lead to people in the seats, your ideas need to change. The 24 second shot clock was not introduced to the professional game because the rule makers thought it would be best for the game. It was introduced because the owners knew they needed more points in order to make more money. Now, I personally love that 24 second shot clock, but let’s be honest enough to admit what drove such a decision. Not basketball, but the bottom line. Not play, but pay. The same holds true for the defensive rules. More dunks makes more revenue, so let’s change the rules to have more dunks. On and on we could go.
Second, think about what this means for our discussion concerning International players. Might they have an advantage simply because they are International, simply because they gather in a fan base largely untouched? I would think so. And I perfectly understand it.
Third, consider what this means for those looking for talent or hiring talent. Are they looking for talent in a bubble? No way. They are responding to forces at work beyond them. They are looking for talent that will fit into the NBA business. Not only that, but they are looking for talent that will protect them. Meaning, if things don’t go well for the players they say are good, they can say, “Hey, we gave you what you wanted, what you were looking for. Maybe it was you who just failed to develop it or use it properly.” Sometimes they are right, but sometimes they are wrong. Most times, they can keep their job.
A good general manager is one who compiles a good mix of talent and a coach that knows how to mix such a concoction best for the good of all. But oftentimes, a general manager starts getting concerned about his job (understandably). So what might he do? Hire the best talent he can find. Or at least a bunch of players that have played well elsewhere. That are proven. So if it doesn’t work, maybe the coach is to blame and he keeps his job. “What more could I give the coach to work with?“ he might say.
Would anyone ever admit to this? Maybe a few, but probably not most. But because the game is a professional game, such things are inevitable. People respond to the incentives given them. Even the rise in players who can dunk great and shoot poorly can be explained by the law of incentives. They watch an NBA game and mold their games to fit what is wanted there. Pretty simple.
Some people might ask me, do I believe that professional sports inevitably corrupts those sports? In a sense, absolutely. Don’t you? Isn’t it obvious? Don’t we all understand this instinctively? When play is tied up in pay, it is impossible to be pure play. This doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be done. After all, it is not the money’s fault. An inanimate object cannot be blamed. It just means that we ought to recognize what we are actually doing and do our best to combine the two.
What would such a positive correlation look like for the NBA? Well, as I have stated, I think that some quarters of the NBA have swung to an unhealthy extreme. Fans everywhere still enjoy the NBA game, but many basketball fans are losing taste for the style set before them. Of course, we still want to see great individual performances, but not at the expense of good team basketball. Not at the expense of having a good mix of basketball talent. Do we still want to see great athletes? Absolutely. The great dunks are welcomed. But we also want to see great shooting and passing and spacing and use of screens. In general, good team basketball as well.
The best teams to watch in the NBA are loaded not simply with great athletes, but with a great mix of players. The Orlando Magic went to the finals last year not simply because they had great individual performers, but because they played well as a team and they also shot the basketball as well as any team in the league. Were they athletic? Sure, but not at the expense of other vital skills.
In short, I believe a desire for profit and a desire for great play can and should coexist. But it will take great effort on the part of everyone involved. Will it mean more American white guys in the NBA? Maybe, but maybe not. Black or white, I don’t care. The best basketball is always the goal. And I for one am convinced that the best basketball will also be best long-term for the bottom line.
Great Quote
Posted by: | CommentsFrom Charles Spurgeon, cited in my current read, Unfashionable by Tullian Tchividjian. Keep in mind he is talking about much more than fashion in clothes. How we think is certainly much more important.
“The great guide of the world is fashion and its god is respectability–two phantoms at which brave men laugh! How many of you look around on society to know what to do? You watch the general current and then float upon it! You study the popular breeze and shift your sails to suit it. True men do not do so! You ask, ‘Is it fashionable? If it is fashionable, it must be done.’ Fashion is the law of multitudes, but it is nothing more than the common consent of fools.”
