The Way of Basketball: Never Talk Shit to Him! -
Chapter 247 - 156 LeBron at the Crossroads_3
Chapter 247: Chapter 156 LeBron at the Crossroads_3
As the leader of the team and someone known for his warm personality, how could LeBron have possibly let McGinnis bully Zhu Fangyu for so long without intervening?
Therefore, no one believed a word Danny Ferri said in his evaluation of LeBron, until LeBron started giving interviews.
They didn’t hesitate to ask LeBron directly whether he had seen McGinnis take Zhu Fangyu’s boxed lunch?
The private jet wasn’t that spacious, and Zhu definitely had an altercation with Jeff. With such a commotion, how could LeBron not have heard anything?
The most likely explanation was that LeBron lied!
The aggressive atmosphere made LeBron feel suffocated, as he hadn’t slept well in days. Glancing anxiously at Danny Ferri beside him,
the latter came to the rescue, "Regarding this matter, we have already answered it last time, so we won’t repeat it here. This press conference is mainly to clarify some of Jeff’s inappropriate remarks. LeBron has never said those racist words; these are all Jeff’s traps!"
"Right, these are all Jeff’s traps; he wanted to harm me, that’s why he said that," LeBron echoed like a parrot.
When the reporters heard him say this, seven or eight questions burst forth:
"Why would Jeff set you up?"
"Do you have any personal grievances with him?"
"Or is it because something did happen on the plane, and you indeed lied, leaving Jeff to face all the consequences alone, which led him to want revenge on you?"
Each question was incredibly sharp, as many of the journalists were not sports reporters but from general media outlets.
After all, issues like "bullying" and "racism" were hot topics in society.
These journalists typically wrote articles that targeted societal problems; their approaches were not like the usual sports reporter’s.
Facing these questions, LeBron couldn’t come up with an answer. He was even more embarrassed than when later asked by reporters about the content of the books he’d read, hemming and hawing without providing any substantial explanation.
Danny Ferri beside him was near panic. He was well aware that with LeBron acting this way, the press would become even more relentless later.
As anticipated, the reporters started to press him relentlessly.
Unfortunately, today’s press conference was meant to provide an explanation to the public, and without clarifying the situation, it simply couldn’t end.
LeBron’s demeanor had gone beyond mere embarrassment. In a mix of anxiety, anger, and annoyance, he suddenly felt a surge of heat in his eyes, and then he couldn’t hold back the tears, sobbing uncontrollably while stammering the same words, "I never said that, I really didn’t say it!"
His demeanor was like that of a child much younger than eight!
The journalists recorded this spectacle one by one.
Richie Paul, standing by the side court door, thought to himself:
It’s over!
LeBron had many endorsements that required him to maintain the image of the "Chosen One" and "King," just like Adidas later required James Harden to preserve his "Big Beard" image, with Harden spending millions each year to hire a team to manage his beard.
But now, with LeBron sobbing like a child at the press conference, unable to speak clearly, it was obvious that his image in these two respects had been affected.
Crying wasn’t the issue; Jordan cried when he won championships.
But which "Chosen One" or "King" would sob uncontrollably under pressure from the media?
To put it bluntly, it was going to cost a lot of money.
As for contract terminations...
Currently, LeBron had yet to clarify the racism issue, and on top of that, the label of "bully" was still firmly attached to him. Some endorsements, especially those aimed at young people, definitely couldn’t allow such a person to be their spokesperson.
The League would probably issue a punishment as well.
Sure enough, the League officially announced the punishment for the Cavaliers and LeBron on the very afternoon following the hasty end of the press conference.
The reason was the same:
They had brought a bad influence on the League.
Without specifying the details,
David Stern left a way out for LeBron.
The Cavaliers were fined $300,000.
LeBron was fined $100,000 and suspended for 7 games.
Su Wan, who didn’t plan to let it go just because LeBron had cried during the press conference, was quite satisfied with the punishment the League imposed afterward.
After all, McGinnis hadn’t provided any concrete evidence; if the punishment had been too severe, that would have been truly unfair.
What if LeBron hadn’t said it?
The 7-game suspension was a moderate punishment.
If he hadn’t said it, then this suspension was the penalty for his condoning McGinnis’s bullying.
Even though he never admitted it, the media quickly inferred.
If only he hadn’t lied at the press conference earlier, insisting he hadn’t seen McGinnis attempting to take Zhu Fangyu’s boxed lunch, he could have easily explained why McGinnis would slander him.
Either admit to "favouring bullying" or face "racism" allegations, caught between a rock and a hard place, no wonder LeBron was overwhelmed to tears—that’s what the media guessed, unaware that LeBron’s tear ducts were also a bit defective.
Upon seeing the news of four or five brands terminating their contracts with LeBron, Su Wan felt even more exhilarated.
The Asian supporters and the Asian-American forces behind Su Wan were equally satisfied, seeing LeBron’s miserable outcome as an unprecedented victory!
In the eyes of these people, Su Wan’s status had skyrocketed.
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