Lebron the thug (In a nice, happy, Webster's Dictionary way)?

Schmidty · 05-30-2007, 08:30 PM

http://blog.mlive.com/fullcourtpress...ball_at_a.html

Now, of course, I don't actually think that he actually is a thug, but this really seems to be a pretty stupid, mean thing to do out of anger.

I thought of naming this thread "Lebron the Meanie?", but that sounded.......ineffective.

Schmidty · 05-30-2007, 08:32 PM

Oh, and this may very well have been posted, but I haven't seen it. If it has, I will delete the thread. You might lose posts.

Crapshoot · 05-30-2007, 08:34 PM

Seriously, how many times does an African-American player get called a thug for the most ridiculous reasons?

Schmidty · 05-30-2007, 08:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crapshoot

Seriously, how many times does an African-American player get called a thug for the most ridiculous reasons?

Hey jackass, don't make this a fucking racial thread.

Fuck. I even said that I didn't think he was remotely a thug.

Schmidty · 05-30-2007, 08:39 PM

Besides, why is it that we can't use the word "thug" unless it's a white person? Damn, I was just showing a video of a guy throwing a ball at a fan, and used a word that fit, regardless of race - "thug - A person who treats others violently and roughly."

Should I have called him a bully? Would that be ok with everyone?

Crapshoot · 05-30-2007, 08:41 PM

Schmidty, I'd agree with you, but I can't recall the last time I personally have seen the word "thug" associated with any non-black athlete. I may well be wrong, but from recollection, that's how it seems.

And as always, thanks for the classy PM.

BrianD · 05-30-2007, 08:42 PM

I don't think the ball ever touched the fan after whatever it was he did. Looks like he tossed the ball in front of them with lots of backspin. Probably just playing around.

Crapshoot · 05-30-2007, 08:42 PM

Dola,
I don't particularly care - but its something I've noticed. Like I said, feel free to correct me if I'm off-base on this.

Crapshoot · 05-30-2007, 08:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BrianD

I don't think the ball ever touch the fan after whatever it was he did. Looks like he tossed the ball in front of them with lots of backspin. Probably just playing around.

Err, that do. I don't see how the NBA wouldn't notice something like that if he actually threw it at here. In the post-Palace-rumble world, the NBA is hypersensitive about this kind of thing.

BrianD · 05-30-2007, 08:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crapshoot

Dola,
I don't particularly care - but its something I've noticed. Like I said, feel free to correct me if I'm off-base on this.

For what it is worth, I think you are off base.

Groundhog · 05-30-2007, 08:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BrianD

I don't think the ball ever touched the fan after whatever it was he did. Looks like he tossed the ball in front of them with lots of backspin. Probably just playing around.

I agree. It bounced back way too quickly. It looks to me more like he was joking around with the crowd.

Like the quote on that page said, if he had thrown a ball at a chick in the 1st row I'd imagine more would have been made of it than that.

Schmidty · 05-30-2007, 08:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crapshoot

Dola,
I don't particularly care - but its something I've noticed. Like I said, feel free to correct me if I'm off-base on this.

Hell, I'm the last one to want to hurt a person, or a group of people, but I guess I just didn't see that word, in the way I used it, as a racial epithet. Not even remotely. Maybe I'm naive. If it hurts anyone's feelings, by all means, let me know, and I will gladly edit the title.

Toddzilla · 05-30-2007, 08:47 PM

White guys who throw balls at fans are pricks - I've never heard a black guy called a prick. I've never heard a white guy called a thug. 6 of one, half-dozen of the other in my book.

JPhillips · 05-30-2007, 08:49 PM

Typical Lebron choke.

Toddzilla · 05-30-2007, 08:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Schmidty

Hell, I'm the last one to want to hurt a person, or a group of people, but I guess I just didn't see that word, in the way I used it, as a racial epithet. Not even remotely. Maybe I'm naive. If it hurts anyone's feelings, by all means, let me know, and I will gladly edit the title.

I don't think anyone accused you of using a racial epithet - certainly not one in the class of some major-league epithets. It seemed more of a general commentary on how the work "thug" is used - and probably how it is becoming an epithet by virtue of it being applied to a class of people.

Quick! What race do you associate with "geek" and "nerd"?

Not epithets - almost universally apply to white people - but certainly not racist.

stevew · 05-30-2007, 08:51 PM

Don't they call white hockey players thugs too, or they exclusively Goons?

Schmidty · 05-30-2007, 08:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Toddzilla

White guys who throw balls at fans are pricks - I've never heard a black guy called a prick. I've never heard a white guy called a thug. 6 of one, half-dozen of the other in my book.

I just asked my definitely naive wife what the word "thug" meant, and she said, "Isn't that like a bully or something?". And that's exactly what I was thinking when I posted it.

I think it's sad that others are turning this into a racial thing, when all it was meant to be, was a discussion of whether or not he was meaning to be a cock and hurt the fan. I think you people might have some deep-seated guilt of racism if you read that type of thing into this.

miami_fan · 05-30-2007, 08:51 PM

Whew! I was getting worried that we would not have our weekly discussion on race.

On the point of the thread, I thought we wanted to athletes to have fun with fans?

Schmidty · 05-30-2007, 08:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stevew

Don't they call white hockey players thugs too, or they exclusively Goons?

Does it even matter? This whole issue is stupid, and the people making a big deal of it are idealogical thugs.

Groundhog · 05-30-2007, 08:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Toddzilla

Quick! What race do you associate with "geek" and "nerd"?

JeeberD · 05-30-2007, 09:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Toddzilla

Quick! What race do you associate with "geek" and "nerd"?

Schmidty · 05-30-2007, 09:09 PM

As far as the video, I think it did look like he threw the ball at the chair, but it was still poor judgement, as it could have easily accidently hit one of the fans (if it actually didn't). It just seemed like a dumb thing to do.

Schmidty · 05-30-2007, 09:16 PM

Crapshoot - I tried to respond to your last PM, but your inbox was full.

Young Drachma · 05-30-2007, 09:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Groundhog

I was gonna say, if The Neptunes aren't geeks, they doesn't exist.

JonInMiddleGA · 05-30-2007, 09:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stevew

Don't they call white hockey players thugs too, or they exclusively Goons?

Good catch, as I know I've used the word thug at a hockey game, as in
"c'mon coach, get your thugs under control".

Of course the primary player in question at the time was Peter Worrell, so I'm not sure that counts exactly.

Karlifornia · 05-30-2007, 09:35 PM

Meh...it's too hard to tell.

Crapshoot · 05-30-2007, 09:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Schmidty

Crapshoot - I tried to respond to your last PM, but your inbox was full.

fixed.

stevew · 05-31-2007, 05:13 AM

from the comments on the blog...

Quote:

NoWings says...
I was about 5 rows away from this incident and I can assure you that it WAS a joke. He never touched touched them with the ball and the woman were laughing about it afterwards. You see people do the exact same move he did on the playgrounds all the time when they are messing around. I am a die-hard Pistons fan, but shame on Terry Foster for trying to stir up something out of nothing. It was nothing more than some gamesmanship on James part and was playful interaction with the fans.

BrianD · 05-31-2007, 09:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Toddzilla

Quick! What race do you associate with "geek" and "nerd"?

Swing and a miss. Geeks and nerds (just like thugs) come in all colors. It seems that people like to bring race into these discussions just to make the comments easier to dismiss. Look at the ratio in this thread of people on topic versus people talking about race.

Subby · 05-31-2007, 09:33 AM

Good to see Pistons fans desperately grasping at anything they can as their team chokes away the series.

mauchow · 05-31-2007, 09:42 AM

i was going to say, it looked like they were laughing fter that.

miami_fan · 05-31-2007, 10:05 AM

http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/thug

Main Entry: thug
Pronunciation: 'th&g
Function: noun
Etymology: Hindi & Urdu thag, literally, thief
: a brutal ruffian or assassin : GANGSTER, TOUGH

So is he a ruffian or an assassin?

05-30-2007, 08:42 PM	#7
BrianD Grizzled Veteran Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Appleton, WI	I don't think the ball ever touched the fan after whatever it was he did. Looks like he tossed the ball in front of them with lots of backspin. Probably just playing around. Last edited by BrianD : 05-30-2007 at 08:43 PM.

05-30-2007, 08:49 PM	#14
JPhillips Hall Of Famer Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Newburgh, NY	Typical Lebron choke. __________________ To love someone is to strive to accept that person exactly the way he or she is, right here and now.. - Mr. Rogers

05-30-2007, 08:51 PM	#18
miami_fan Coordinator Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Land O Lakes FL	Whew! I was getting worried that we would not have our weekly discussion on race. On the point of the thread, I thought we wanted to athletes to have fun with fans? __________________ "Do not be indifferent in the face of historical lies. Do not be indifferent when you see the past being exploited for the needs of contemporary politics. Do not be indifferent when any minority suffers discrimination. For it's the essence of democracy that the majority wields the power, but at the same time, the rights of the minority must be respected." Marian Turski- former prisoner of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration and death camp

05-30-2007, 09:35 PM	#26
Karlifornia Grizzled Veteran Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: San Jose, CA	Meh...it's too hard to tell. __________________ Look into the mind of a crazy man (NSFW) http://www.whitepowerupdate.wordpress.com

05-31-2007, 09:33 AM	#30
Subby lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: sans pants	Good to see Pistons fans desperately grasping at anything they can as their team chokes away the series. __________________ Superman was flying around and saw Wonder Woman getting a tan in the nude on her balcony. Superman said I going to hit that real fast. So he flys down toward Wonder Woman to hit it and their is a loud scream. The Invincible Man scream what just hit me in the ass!!!!! I do shit, I take pictures, I write about it: chrisshue.com

05-30-2007, 08:32 PM	#2
Schmidty Coordinator Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Early, TX	Oh, and this may very well have been posted, but I haven't seen it. If it has, I will delete the thread. You might lose posts.

05-30-2007, 08:34 PM	#3
Crapshoot Grizzled Veteran Join Date: Dec 2003	Seriously, how many times does an African-American player get called a thug for the most ridiculous reasons?

05-30-2007, 08:39 PM	#5
Schmidty Coordinator Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Early, TX	Besides, why is it that we can't use the word "thug" unless it's a white person? Damn, I was just showing a video of a guy throwing a ball at a fan, and used a word that fit, regardless of race - "thug - A person who treats others violently and roughly." Should I have called him a bully? Would that be ok with everyone?

05-30-2007, 08:41 PM	#6
Crapshoot Grizzled Veteran Join Date: Dec 2003	Schmidty, I'd agree with you, but I can't recall the last time I personally have seen the word "thug" associated with any non-black athlete. I may well be wrong, but from recollection, that's how it seems. And as always, thanks for the classy PM.

05-30-2007, 08:47 PM	#13
Toddzilla Pro Starter Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Burke, VA	White guys who throw balls at fans are pricks - I've never heard a black guy called a prick. I've never heard a white guy called a thug. 6 of one, half-dozen of the other in my book.

05-30-2007, 08:51 PM	#16
stevew Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: the yo'	Don't they call white hockey players thugs too, or they exclusively Goons?

05-30-2007, 09:09 PM	#22
Schmidty Coordinator Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Early, TX	As far as the video, I think it did look like he threw the ball at the chair, but it was still poor judgement, as it could have easily accidently hit one of the fans (if it actually didn't). It just seemed like a dumb thing to do.

05-30-2007, 09:16 PM	#23
Schmidty Coordinator Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Early, TX	Crapshoot - I tried to respond to your last PM, but your inbox was full.

05-31-2007, 09:42 AM	#31
mauchow Grizzled Veteran Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Murfreesboro, TN	i was going to say, it looked like they were laughing fter that.

05-31-2007, 10:05 AM	#32
miami_fan Coordinator Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Land O Lakes FL	If we are going with Webster's http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/thug Main Entry: thug Pronunciation: 'th&g Function: noun Etymology: Hindi & Urdu thag, literally, thief : a brutal ruffian or assassin : GANGSTER, TOUGH So is he a ruffian or an assassin? __________________ "Do not be indifferent in the face of historical lies. Do not be indifferent when you see the past being exploited for the needs of contemporary politics. Do not be indifferent when any minority suffers discrimination. For it's the essence of democracy that the majority wields the power, but at the same time, the rights of the minority must be respected." Marian Turski- former prisoner of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration and death camp

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