[Rant Sports] James Harden Needs To Improve His Relationship With Media by*John Raffel

These two little gems are my personal favorites from this thread. Obviously a guy who would have the audacity to skip out on reporters can't be a leader or a true star.

Here's some more bums that fall into the same category:


Abdul-Jabbar has been known to be an introverted individual. During his playing years he often didn’t speak to the press and it lead to his reputation as a cold individual.
http://www.newuniversity.org/2010/0...abbar-coaching-the-uci-men’s-basketball-team/

When Bill (Walton) first got into the NBA and during his time at UCLA, he really didn't speak to the press, and there was a view of him of being very reclusive
http://articles.latimes.com/1991-06-23/sports/sp-1967_1_bill-walton

(Lebron) James dressed quickly in the locker room, put on headphones and went to the team bus without talking to reporters
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs/2009/news/story?id=4218722

Derrick Rose told Doris Burke ESPN that he was feeling good and a little bit of ice would be all he needed following todays game in which he scored 23 points, dished 6 assists, and grabbed 5 rebounds. However, Rose was notably missing tonight from the locker room as reporters came in to talk with the players. Derrick Rose is not one to miss out on giving the media his time, so it is surprising that he wasn’t available for them tonight, especially in his first game back after missing 5 games
http://www.thewindyapple.com/2012/02/20/derrick-rose-skips-out-on-post-game-reporters/

(Dwight)Howard left without speaking to reporters, but Bryant said he was upset by the costly ejection.
http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=400278321


O'Neal left without speaking to reporters, as he has done for the past month following games
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/recaps/20030105/pholal.html

Garnett, who had 18 points and nine rebounds, left without speaking to reporters,
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/recap?gid=2011012821

The loss was their third consecutive on the road, and Bryant left without speaking to reporters after a game in which he shot 11 of 29 from the field to score 26 points
http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2009/Mar/10/br/hawaii90310001.html

Reggie Miller left without speaking to reporters.
http://www.nba.com/games/20030216/INDATL/recap.html


Afterward, Anthony left without speaking to reporters, saying, “Not tonight” as he moved quickly down an arena hallway
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/07/s...ose-that-winning-feeling.html?ref=todayspaper

While Duncan wasn't feeling great — he left without speaking to reporters —
http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=56901

 

Haha, this thread and article is a joke.

I guess all the star players in this league that have led their team to championships aren't true leaders, lol.

 

I have figured out that to LOF's, Harden=Melo... in fact I would guess any star next to Lin would be viewed the same.

Nice find.

 

I hate to say it, but I just don't think you like Harden and your personal feelings toward Lin are coloring your objectivity. In the past when Harden has carried the team you have taken shots at him. Now you are bending over backwards to make a big deal out of Harden taking off before the media. First, Harden has been available a majority of games. He hasn't been available when he wants "glory" (another passive aggressive shot), but he has overwhelmingly been available win or lose.

Larry Bird, Hakeem Olajuwon, LeBron James, Steve Francis, Tim Duncan, Shaquille O'Neal and Karl Malone all have dodged reporters after games. Michael Jordan in Chicago was available half the time during one stretch. If you consider them immature then James Harden can be immature anytime he wants as far as I am concerned.

The head coach called Harden the leader, the GM called him a strong leader, Delfino pointed out that Harden leads them. Smith called Harden a leader. I am not sure what else you need.

You and other posters can want something to be true, but that does not make it so.

 

Yeah, I came to this realization the other day as well. It's pretty clear some posters will vilify anyone who takes Lin's shine.

 

Skipping the media is leaving responsibility for his teammates?

It's really funny how there is such a misconception that Lin is the most unfairly criticized player on this team when in truth that person is James Harden.

 

Amen to that. I don't know if the content of the board has changed or if I have just been reading it differently, but not long ago Harden came here and he was the man. Now, on CF at least, Harden's somewhat slighted. I hope he doesn't come read tis board. From his perspective, CF is not very supportive.

 

Well I think Harden should be there for his team. Parsons had a bad game and he faced the music. I respect a guy who does things like that. I would love to see Harden do the same thing. Maybe it was the way I was brought up but I value character traits like that.

I think Harden and Lin both get unfairly criticized a lot but you don't see me whining about it. Why do you care so much who gets criticized more?

 

Wait.

WHAT DO YOU MEAN COLOURING?

Jks jks.

 

I really don't care about who gets criticized, both players deserve criticism if they perform poorly. I just find it funny that certain fans like to victimize their favorite player.

Again, you are extrapolating a minor, harmless innocent and questioning his character based on a mere missed media interview.

I honestly don't see how missing a media session is somehow "not being there for the team".

This reminds me of the whole McHale 29/9 thing, except this time the victim is accused of being a poor teammate, diverting responsibility and lacking maturity.

 

And there you would be completely wrong. I like Harden very much, and have followed him extensively since he was drafted in OKC. He's been a darling of hardcore stat heads for years.

That doesn't mean that he's above reproach or scrutiny.

Harden doesn't have many weaknesses. A tendency to force the action is one of them. And feel free to search my post history... you'll be hard pressed to find me taking any shots at Harden other than when he sometimes forces the action.

As for skipping an interview, I don't think it's a good choice for any professional athlete. Just because athletes have done it in the past, doesn't mean that it's a good idea.

The comment on glory is an obvious one that applies to ALL athletes, not just Harden. How many "Star" players skip the post-game interview after a big Win? Oh right... NONE. Why? It's because doing an interview when you've played well or you've won is the EASY part of dealing with the Media.

Harden is going to have many bad games throughout his career. His team is going to lose tough ones, they're going to get knocked out of the play offs, or he's going to play injured or tired.

It's THOSE interviews that are the TOUGH part of dealing with the media. My point was simply that as a professional athlete you don't get to decide when and when you don't speak to the media. The NBA decides, and makes it clear to Every player when they join the NBA what those expectations are going to be.

Does that mean that the NBA is going to crucify him for skipping a single interview? No. However, the NBA isn't going to tolerate skipping too many interviews either. Nor should they... the NBA has to look out for No. 1 and that's the health of the NBA.

That is how professional sports works.

I believe that professional athletes should be professional whenever possible.

It takes very little to show up for 5 mins, spit some canned answers to a few reporters and go home.

That said, you missed my point. I said his actions were immature. That does not mean that Harden is immature. Doing something that is immature does not make an individual immature. However, repeatedly doing something that is immature would point to someone being immature in some aspect of their behavior.

Bailing on an interview is immature and non-professional. It's part of the job description. It's part of the league rules. It's as simple as that.

Media interaction may not be the most important part of his job, but it's still part of his job. It's like you or me on the job. Just because you get the the core project done, it doesn't mean you get to skip submitting paperwork or filling out employee files.

I get that he was upset, however that isn't an excuse. Every player is upset after a loss, injury, personal situation, etc. It's part of their job to suck it up and do what's asked of them.

Like I said, I just hope he doesn't make a habit of it.

Nice of you to talk about "passive aggressive" ... perhaps you should look at your own interpretations as a guidepost...

 

This was a big game with seeding implications against a team with a developing rivalry. Rockets played poorly and got blown out. This was not the normal ho-hum game. You know nobody on the team wants to answer questions on why they sucked and got beaten so badly. Personally I think it shows a little bit of character in times like this if you show show up and faced the music. Everybody else was available and didn't duck out. Now is that really fair?

 

Do not tarnish Duncan's name. He had the stomach flu. He's excused. He's a true champion. How dare you even compare Harden to him.

 

rantsports is trash /thread

 

Its really wierd, the last time we had a player of James's caliber (T-Mac) he had a big following on the board, me included before the last two seasons he was here. With James I don't see a solid group of fans. All Rockets fans like the guy but there isn't any crazy fandom going on and he is the best player we have had in 5 years.

 

You're assuming that they even understand what "character" means.

LOL implying that Duncan, the classiest player in the NBA purposely ducked out of a post-game when the guy had stomach flu. Classy. Real classy post. Every true NBA fan just threw up a little.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64LzDNbxB2c

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FU8xLEE6Ixc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyLm3BpW1mg

 

Why do you continue linking videos of random tennis players as if that proves anything. And I don't know if I'd call you a true nba fan, after you say things like "Monta Ellis is just as good as James Harden" you should only be classified as a dumb NBA fan.

 

lol at the LOFs using this as a way to attack Harden.

I seem to recall a moment last year in NY where Lin avoided the media, in a moment that was much more important than Harden simply missing a post game interview. At that point during Linsanity, media guys were showing up just for him to hear about his injury and he completely ignored them.

Al Iannazzone Al Iannazzone ‏ @Al_Iannazzone
"Let's get this out there: Jeremy Lin should talk pregame healthy or not."

"Lin wasn’t available to speak with reporters on Friday morning and then went out of his way to avoid the press 90 minutes prior to last night's game. Lin did not make himself available before and after Wednesday’s win over the Orlando Magic as well."

In before excuses about how Lin is a superhero and someone else is to blame.

 

My time in CF hasn't been that long, but boy do we have a lot of expert psychologists populating this thread.

This is almost as r****ded as that "leader" thread. Lots of speculation/fantasy that ultimately results in nothing.

 

my goodness. I don't even know what to say.

Well have a good day sir, I'd rather not let you know whats on my mind atm.