KING JAMES AND BAD LOSERS

The FIFA Fair Play Code for football encapsulates all of the sporting, moral and ethical principles for which FIFA has always stood and for which it will continue to fight in the future, regardless of the influences and pressures that may be brought to bear.

There are ten golden rules one of which is:

2. Play to win but accept defeat with dignity
Winning is the object of playing any game. Never set out to lose. If you do not play to win, you are cheating your opponents, deceiving those who are watching, and also fooling yourself. Never give up against stronger opponents but never relent against weaker ones. It is an insult to any opponent to play at less than full strength. Play to win, until the final whistle. But remember nobody wins all the time. You win some, you lose some. Learn to lose graciously. Do not seek excuses for defeat. Genuine reasons will always be self-evident. Congratulate the winners with good grace. Do not blame the referee or anyone else. Be determined to do better next time. Good losers earn more respect than bad winners.

All sports preach good sportsmanship.

On May 30th, 2009, after being destroyed by the Orlando Magic in Game Six of the Eastern Conference finals The King (Lebron James) acted more like a spoiled prince.

The Cavs lost and Lebron James avoided shaking hands with the Magic. NBA protocol demands that he should have stayed on the pitch to congratulate the winners and then quietly go home. Even Mo Williams stayed on and congratulated his nemesis Anthony Johnson [remember the little skirmish that left Mo to don some stitches?]. In the Lakers/Denver series, even JR Smith, him of the chicken dance stayed behind to congratulate the Lakers. That is class. What LBJ did was arrogance and showed lack of sportsmanship. Man U showed class after being beaten 2-0 by Barcelona.

Not only did Lebron avoid shaking hands with any of the Magic players, he also didn’t attend the post game press conference which is required by the NBA. Instead, Mo Williams was forced to the podium to congratulate the Magic and explain why the best team in the league would not be going to the NBA Finals. Man up Lebron.

TNT’s Craig Sager mentioned ‘James flight’ soon after the game but to no-ones surprise the TNT crew [Barkley, EJ and Kenny Smith] didn’t go to town on it. I can only guess what could have been said if it had been Kobe. The media and all would have been circling on him like vultures over a carcass. It seems members of the media are afraid of Lebron James after he called Sir. Charles Barkley stupid.

James said he sent an e-mail to Howard (were the Cavs beaten by one man?) following Saturday’s game. “It’s hard for me to congratulate somebody after you just lose to them,” he said. “I’m a winner. It’s not being a poor sport or anything like that. If somebody beats you up, you’re not going to congratulate them. That doesn’t make sense to me. I’m a competitor. That’s what I do. It doesn’t make sense for me to go over and shake somebody’s hand.”

If you’re into sports, you’ve seen it happen. You’ve probably even experienced it: Football (American Football) players shaking hands after four quarters of knocking each other around. Tennis players leaping over the net to shake hands with their opponents after a hard-fought match. Soccer players exchanging jerseys after an intense 90 minutes. Even boxers touching gloves at the beginning of each round, then hugging each other after beating each other into a pulp for 12 rounds.

It seems like competitors in every event, from spelling bees to hockey, behave this way. What’s going on? It’s all part of sportsmanship, a great tradition in sports and competition that means playing clean and handling both victory and defeat with grace, style, and dignity. It is called good sportsmanship.
Sportsmanship is defined as:
• playing fair
• following the rules of the game
• respecting the judgment of referees and officials
• treating opponents with respect

Some people define good sportsmanship as the “golden rule” of sports — in other words, treating the people you play with and against as you’d like to be treated yourself. You demonstrate good sportsmanship when you show respect for yourself, your teammates, and your opponents, for the coaches on both sides, and for the referees, judges, and other officials.
But sportsmanship isn’t just reserved for the people on the field. Cheerleaders, fans, and parents also need to be aware of how they behave during competition. Sportsmanship is a style and an attitude, and it can have a positive influence on everyone around you.

When you do lose — and it will happen — don’t take it out on your opponent, blame the officials, or blame your team. Take it in stride. When you lose, lose with class. Being proud of how you performed, or at least being aware of things you need to improve for next time, is key. When it comes to losing, good sportsmanship means congratulating the winners promptly and willingly. Also, it means accepting the game’s outcome without complaint and without excuses, even if you sometimes might suspect the referees made some questionable calls. It’s a &#@%@!# disgrace?

King James left the playoffs as a loser.

Whatever has happened has happened. It’s gone. There’s nothing you can do to change the past. So why not just go ahead and congratulate the winner? The best lesson about how to be a gracious winner can only come after you’ve suffered a crushing loss. It gives you something to think about the next time you win.

Win or lose the sun will come up the next day. Life goes on.

Any bad losers in soccer?