Amar’e Stoudemire: LeBron James needs to connect with people – NBA Update
Ever since LeBron James announced “The Decision”, people have been on his back. LeBron has become something of a unifying figure for fans in the NBA; they all want to see him fail. With the Miami Heat losing in the NBA Finals and LeBron James in particular struggling to make an impact, the LeBron haters have earned the bragging rights for the whole summer.
NBA players live their lives under the watchful gaze of the media and the public at large, some more than others. They are human and all of them make mistakes. Even the most celebrated athlete would have at some point taken a wrong turn. So why is it that LeBron James is being singled out so much?
If you believe Amar’e Stoudemire, it’s got to do with his conduct in general,
“I think you have to conduct yourself in way that people can relate to you,” said Stoudemire. “The more they can relate to you, the more they will appreciate you….”
Stoudemire certainly knows what he is talking about. The forward joined up with the New York Knicks in the summer and has become an instant fan favourite. In his first season at the franchise, Stoudemire was instrumental in the Knicks posting their first winning season in 10 years. New York went into the playoffs as a consequence, but lost out in the first round to the Boston Celtics.
Stoudemire was injured in that series but his back is now on the mend. The explosive forward advised LeBron to take a leaf out of Michael Jordan’s book. Jordan was loved throughout the world but he certainly had his own demons to deal with. Notorious among them were gambling and infidelity. And he punched a teammate, Steve Kerr, in the face once at training.
However, people overlooked all that because Jordan was someone they could identify themselves with. His behaviour in the public eye was always humble and human, contrary to the brash and dominating athlete we saw on the court.
“One thing about Michael Jordan was that no matter how great he was and how much of a platform he stood on, he still related to all the hard workers out there in the world.”
In the end, Stoudemire said that even though LeBron had made some serious PR mistakes thus far, there was no reason he could not make up for them in the future.
“I think LeBron is still young,” Stoudemire added, “and there is still time for him to reconnect with the public.”
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