The Way of Basketball: Never Talk Shit to Him!
Chapter 243 - 155: League Tremors, Crisis PR_2

Chapter 243: Chapter 155: League Tremors, Crisis PR_2

"I indeed didn’t suffer a loss yesterday, but over the past month, while I was gritting my teeth and bearing it, I have been continuously bullied—McGinnis has been insulting me, and there were others. LeBron turned a blind eye; is this really what you call a team leader? I don’t want to endure it anymore, so I fought back!"

"Fortunately, I protected myself!"

"But if I don’t speak out about this, maybe I would be labeled as a team brawler, an unsupportive teammate. I’m an international player, and I need to uphold the image of international players. I can’t give them the opportunity to sling mud at me..."

Zhu became increasingly agitated as he spoke, half-remembering the words Su Wan had taught him, but seeing the reaction from the reporters in front of him, he felt the effect had been achieved and promptly delivered his closing statement, "I hope the League gives me an explanation. I demand an apology from McGinnis, and as the team leader, LeBron owes me an apology too!"

Zhu’s words stirred up a tempest immediately after the press interview ended that morning. The news flew everywhere:

"Shocking, LeBron condones veteran’s bullying of team newbie!"

"Zhu’s poor performance has another side—bullied by a veteran for a month, with LeBron turning a blind eye."

"Team solidarity—just a media persona? LeBron faces an image crisis for condoning internal veteran bullying of a newbie!"

"Attempted group fight turned one against three counter-kill—LeBron, disgraced on the court, now embarrassed off the court!"

...

These reporters, one and all, were especially skilled at crafting headlines; they knew who had the traffic. Any report on the matter would inevitably include LeBron’s name and words like "bullying" and "group fight."

Good news:

Now nobody cared that the Cavaliers had suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of the Pacers yesterday, nor did they remember Su Wan sending LeBron packing from the playoffs.

Bad news:

LeBron’s personal image faced the greatest crisis.

Even the media outside of sports were alerted; newspapers that regularly write about social safety and human nature covered this issue extensively.

Su Wan was not surprised.

Originally, Larry Brown, after being exposed for verbally insulting Nate Robinson, quickly sparked industry outrage and was forced to step down from the Knicks. Why?

Because bullying is an issue that society as a whole is concerned about.

The NBA, facing the entire fanbase, if it conveys "insulting others," "internal bullying," such negative images, will definitely become a target for some activists, who will demand a reduction in the frequency with which these are transmitted to youth.

The consequence of this action could very likely lead to a generational gap in fan renewal.

If the consequences weren’t so severe, then how could someone of Larry Brown’s stature have stepped down so easily?

The current situation is similar.

David Stern reacted quickly and had already established an investigative team heading to Cleveland.

However, Su Wan thought the current chaos wasn’t enough and immediately had Bill Duffy contact the media to release the story that Larry Brown’s retirement was because his verbal abuse of Milicic had been recorded and used against him, which forced him to retire—an event they had been curious about before, which Duffy had investigated and found useful now.

Mainly, it was because Zhu didn’t handle being in front of the cameras well, failing to achieve the effect Su Wan had anticipated, so now he had to fan the flames again.

Milicic, although he had promised Brown that he wouldn’t blow the whistle, but now that it was someone else who had revealed the matter, and the reporters simply asked him about it, of course, he would not save face for Brown:

"Yes, it’s just that I’ve never been as brave as Zhu, so I was insulted by Larry throughout my rookie season, which severely affected my confidence!"

His admission meant Zhu was no longer an isolated case.

The bullying and insulting of international players in the NBA became a recognized phenomenon.

Su Wan was the first to stand up, "Although Larry Brown has already retired, he should still apologize to Dako. He hindered what should have been a sparkling and glorious career for Dako, who wasn’t just an NBA draft bust, but Europe’s Golden Boy. As for the Cavalier’s Jeff McInnis and LeBron James, I hope they step forward quickly and bravely admit their mistakes instead of continuing to hide like turtles!"

Then more international players voiced their support for Zhu and Milicic.

As international players, if they don’t stand up now, when they themselves encounter trouble, who could they count on to help them?

Su Wan continued to "fire away" on Facebook: "We came to the NBA with the goal of internationalization, not to be bullied. If the NBA officials don’t explain themselves, I believe the internationalization of the NBA will be hard to achieve!"

David Stern, in his office, was nearly beside himself with worry. Unable to wait, he hurriedly made a call to Danny Ferry:

"Dammit, why haven’t I seen a press conference from the Cavaliers yet? What on earth are you waiting for?"

What he had in mind was for the investigation and the Cavaliers’ press conference to proceed simultaneously, to show the outside world their determination.

But Danny Ferry was holding him back.

But what could Danny do?

He was also waiting for the final decision from the owner.

And in the general manager’s office, there was another person sitting there:

LeBron James, who had just returned from the hospital.

After a series of checks, there was a slight fracture in his nose, his cheek had been grazed, his brow bone cracked open, and along with some other cuts, he had required roughly ten stitches or so.

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