ESPN pulls Lebron partying article

[ImTellinTim]

Re: ESPN pulls Lebron partying article

ESPN showing sports = Awesome.

ESPN talking about sports = Trainwreck.

[HotGarbage]

Re: ESPN pulls Lebron partying article

Why are they writing a story about someone's night out on the town,anyway?

This is a major reason I why try to steer clear of ESPN. The way they just go to the extreme with certain athletes just sickens me.

[z4ckdabeast]

Re: ESPN pulls Lebron partying article

Wow, we still on that.

I mean cheating on his wife was bad & all, but we all really found out what kind of person the girl that accused him was. 6 other counts of DNA from different men in her that day go figure.

Hence the smiley sticking out its tongue at the end of the sentence.

[Pared]

Re: ESPN pulls Lebron partying article

next ESPN Article: LeBron leaves toilet seat up; signs of immaturity?

LMAO That was good.

ESPN showing sports = Awesome.

ESPN talking about sports = Trainwreck.

Pretty much. It's tough though, IMO there aren't many choices when it comes to major video outlets other than ESPN... and judging by the way some people use social media, what they're doing isn't 100% all that "wrong." It's effective. Hell, we're talking about it. Exposure for their brand brings in the money, right?

[jeebs9]

Re: ESPN pulls Lebron partying article

Wow, we still on that.

I mean cheating on his wife was bad & all, but we all really found out what kind of person the girl that accused him was. 6 other counts of DNA from different men in her that day go figure.

Lol

I don't know about that... LeBron was never accused of rape.

Vince Young's actions were far worse than this.

lmao..I wasn't even going down that road.

Lebron is making it easier for everyone to hate him. That said, I agree with it being taken down. This isn't TMZ.

And it's not like he's the only athlete to party like this.

Exactly

[dexvex]

Re: ESPN pulls Lebron partying article

"Superstar parties it up in vegas, more to come at 11"

Seriously though a good 90% of young pro's party like this.............

[LingeringRegime]

Re: ESPN pulls Lebron partying article

Yeah, this is a non-story really. It would be fun though to hear about the club adventures. I like the line, "I wish they'd have one of these girls with no panties do that instead of the guy."

Typical Pro Athlete lifestyle nothing really to see here.

[ImTellinTim]

Re: ESPN pulls Lebron partying article

Patrick Kane is wondering why they never take his articles about partying down right away.

[pietasterp]

Re: ESPN pulls Lebron partying article

Good one, ImTellinTim...

I agree with the posters that are saying this is a non-story and probably not reportable, but I think what makes it newsworthy is the fact that ESPN pulled the story. As with many other (more serious) controversies, it's the cover-up, not the crime, that ends up being the story. Not that this was a crime, obviously, but the fact that ESPN has whored itself out continuously and with a vengeance over the past decade or so to the superstars is really coming to the fore in the last month or so. Now that the light is shining brightly on the "worldwide leader", it's clear that the operation is no longer a destination for serious sports fans, other than watching the actual games (on mute if Dickie V is commentating...).

If you would have told me 10 years ago, when I was watching 2-3 Sportscenters per day, that soon I would not watch Sportscenter for weeks at a time (or much of anything on ESPN), I would have thought you were crazy. Much the same way that in the early 90's, if you would have told me I wouldn't flip to MTV at all in 5 years, I would never have believed it...ESPN follows the same path. And to our friends up north, keep an eye on TSN - there but for the grace of God, as the saying goes...

[wwharton]

Re: ESPN pulls Lebron partying article

Lets not forget that the writer was invited on the trip by Lebron (more likely, Carter). I don't think much of the article itself but these guys seem to want to create their own little reality show in Vegas. Gotta jump on them as much as ESPN (who took the story DOWN).

[NINJAK2]

Re: ESPN pulls Lebron partying article

next ESPN Article: LeBron leaves toilet seat up; signs of immaturity?

LOL. Hilarious..

[ProfessaPackMan]

Re: ESPN pulls Lebron partying article

I guess this is why they took it down:

Basically, the story of this getting taken down is far more interesting than the story itself, which said that LeBron acts like a rich, somewhat immature 25 year old celebrity. Shocking news.

ESPN will not be running that story at all, as CNBC's Darren Rovell got word from both ESPN and the writer, Arash Markazi.

Here are comments from Markazi & ESPN.com's Rob King. King: "ESPN.com will not be posting the story in any form. We looked into the situation thoroughly and found that Arash did not properly identify himself as a reporter or clearly state his intentions to write a story. As a result, we are not comfortable with the content, even in an edited version, because of the manner in which the story was reported. We've been discussing the situation with Arash and he completely understands. To be clear, the decisions to pull the prematurely published story and then not to run it were made completely by ESPN editorial staff without influence from any outside party." Markazi: "I have been in conversations with ESPN.com's editors and, upon their complete review, understand their decision not to run the story. It is important to note that I stand by the accuracy of the story in its entirety, but should have been clearer in representing my intent to write about the events I observed."

One of two things happened here. You can decide for yourself what it was.

One option, Markazi was not clear with LeBron and his people that everything was on the record. You remember the movie Almost Famous? Where a young Cameron Crowe follows around a rock band? That kind of "embedded reporter" thing happens all the time, in all field of journalism, and there are boundaries set up for what is and is not on the record. Happened with reporters in the Gulf War. Happens all the time. It is possible that Markazi -- a seasoned professional journalist -- did not make it clear he planned to write about everything.

Option two, LeBron's handlers are amateurs and had no idea that a detailed account of what LeBron does out on the town at night (in a city where he could have gotten in a lot more trouble than he did) would cast him in an unflattering light. How unflattering depends on who you ask, to me he sounded like a lot of 25 year olds out in Vegas, just a lot richer version. But it is possible LeBron's handlers let Markazi in and really hadn't though through the implications and freaked out when they saw the story.

Which sounds more plausible to you?

[snepp]

Re: ESPN pulls Lebron partying article

I'll take Option Two, it fits the mold of how everything else surrounding LeBron has been (mis)handled.

[King_B_Mack]

Re: ESPN pulls Lebron partying article

So am I the only one that noticed that the reaction to this story is "Oh no big deal, nothing to see here" and stuff like that when it should be...you know...that whole, it was the media and Nike that painted LeBron as The King and Chosen One thing. I'm pretty sure the media and Nike had nothing to do with the partying LeBron did that night and he was out with the giant crown cake and jesters flying around on wires and whatnot like something straight out of a Shakespeare play or something. Dude really has completely bought into the King thing.

[Jasong7777]

Re: ESPN pulls Lebron partying article

Lebron needs a new PR rep. ASAP

Not mad a him partying it up though. If I had millions and I was in Vegas I would be out of control. Lol