Heroic Moment: Heroes, Role Models, Sports Stars, & LeBron James
The debate that gained momentum with Charles Barkley, Michael Jordan, and Karl Malone in the early 1990′s has been reignited with the story of LeBron James.
Who are heroes and role models in today’s society?
History provides a number of examples of sports stars who were heroes, not because of what they accomplished in sports, but because of what they fought and sacrificed for away from sports in their personal, albeit public, lives.
What is the role of sports stars in today’s world? Are they heroes? Role models? Simply highly paid, highly visible personas?
In this year’s NBA Finals, James provided a case study in celebrity.
Many people have argued that James forfeited the titles of hero and role model, based on a parade of poor decisions from declining to join other players in condemning China’s human rights history to “The Decision” to his condescending statements addressing his “haters” following the NBA Finals.
One writer observed that James consistently failed to take a stand:
“We want clarity. We want heroes and villains. We want successes and failures, betrayals and redemptions, comedy and drama… And that’s where LeBron James ultimately comes up short.”
On the other hand, that may be precisely what eventually qualifies James as a hero in today’s society.
In ancient Greece (the birthplace of the Olympics and spectator sports), “hero” was a somewhat ambiguous word, with heroes such as Achilles, Hercules, and Odysseus having their share of character flaws.
The Greeks’ heroes were not merely larger than life personas; they also represented humanity’s struggle to overcome personal and external obstacles, in order to serve higher values.
Who, then, is LeBron James? It depends if he overcomes, or if he succumbs.
LeBron James fell from heroism in my opinion. He came into the league with immense pressure and he withstood it, playing as a team mate, keeping his true friends close, and acting with humility. See Carmelo Anthony’s entry for what he could have been.
However, at some point ambition trumped character. He became self-focused, claimed sole responsibility for the team’s success, became a celebrity, left his team, and started dissing a sick Dirk Nowitzki. See Carmelo Anthony’s current status for what he could be.
Heroism is also fairly fickle. All James has to do is a few spectacular things on the court, or even one amazingly selfless thing off it, and he’ll be back in the public’s good graces. (See: 2010 Michael Vick.) I don’t think James is a villain, which was the media’s biggest casting mistake of the year; I just think he’s infinitely pressing the pause button midway through a hero quest he — and maybe we — never really understood.
The league needed Bird, Magic and Jordan in order to grow, survive and thrive in the ’80s and ’90s. In the 2000s and beyond, the league doesn’t “need” James (except as a cash cow), so his role is ill-defined. It’s hard to blame him for not living up to our expectations when I don’t think any of us could truly articulate what those expectations were except “score a bunch of points and win some rings.” That’s not the stuff of true character-building, because the league itself doesn’t have true heroes, villains, rivalries or threats at this point.
Maybe we’re just as confused about what LeBron should be doing as he is.