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

So Lin was injured and not playing and so he ducked the media session that was before the game? And Lin ducked another game after they won? Trying to see how they are the same situation. Please explain.

 

You know what shows character? How you play on the court.

I could care less how he acts outside the court, if he isn't hurting anybody then for all I care he could sleep with 50 strippers.

And don't talk about whether it's fair or not. It's at worse unfair for the media and to the fans, but this does not in anyway affect the team.

I don't get why you are questioning his character because he missed one mere media session. He stormed off after a humiliating loss, if anything that shows he was emotional.

I cannot even fathom how this could be an issue for some people, considering the circumstances this is not a big deal.

 

Harden doesn't "owe" anything to the media. They can do their jobs just fine. He owes us solid production at the SG position and he has been amongst the best.

You can't get on him for a stupid ass reason like this especially.

 

Harden's no Joe Sakic for sure...

 

So it should be okay that anyone on the team can skip the media session after any game if they are upset. No big deal, right?

 

Yes, as in he purposely ducked them because he didn't want to talk to them.

Marc Berman Marc Berman ‏ @NYPost_Berman
"Bad sign that Jeremy Lin avoided small group of beat writers tonight before game. Walked in locker room, saw us, walked out."

Al Iannazzone ‏ @Al_Iannazzone
"I've seen LeBron James talk pregame, Kobe Bryant, Jason Kidd. I think they've accomplished a little more than Lin in their b-ball careers."

 

Doesn't Asik rarely do interviews ?

 

Screw the media. How patronizing for a member of the media to say it is his responsibility to answer questions after every single one of the 82 games, and he can be low key (i.e. doesn't matter what he says, but must be present).

It's the media's job to say he was not available for comment and why. It's not the media's job to threaten Harden's career because he didn't salute them properly.

As stated above, you know what shows character? On court play. You know what else shows character? Being so incredibly upset with losing a massive game that, minutes later, you find it unbearable to stand in front of a group of people who inevitably ask idiotic questions and try to bait you into controversial remarks about your teammates while you are in that state.

You know what lacks character? To tell a person they have to stand there like a stooge. You know what else lacks character? To assume that you know Harden did not have something else more important going on in his life than to stand there and mumble a few words out. But most of all, what lacks character is a reporter telling James Harden what it takes to be a star with such condescension.

 

You are seriously comparing this situation with the worldwide media attention and stalking that Lin had to endure during Linsanity in New York? He was begging the press not to stalk his family in Taiwan. LOL

 

Asik doesn't give an interview when he has career high games. That guy is definitely media shy.

 

Yeah, it's 10x worse what Lin did. Journalist were counting on Lin showing up much more than on Harden showing up. Fans were hanging on Lin's word much more than Harden giving generic answers in a post game. That's why so many journalists were upset that he didn't show.

Oh he was avoiding the media for his family right? That's why he showed to every interview before and after? It's comical how you guys rationalize anything Lin does in a way that makes him seem heroic. He just didn't feel like talking to the media because he felt stressed about the situation.

Somehow missing an everyday interview reflects on Harden's character but nothing Lin does ever dents his. He's infallible.

 

Maybe next time, McHale can skip the media session to show how upset he is when the team plays this bad. That sounds like a mature thing for him to do, right?

 

When Harden shares an alma mater with William H Gates and 7 US Presidents, then Harden will be given the same doubt.

 

Don't be so dramatic. I'm not saying that this one incident defines Harden's character. I'm saying that Harden could of handle this incident better by doing the post-game interview. It takes 5 minutes and then it's over.

Lin wasn't being heroic. He is a private person and everybody wanted to get a piece of him. The media was trying to pry into his life so much that they went to Taiwan to stalk his family to find out things about him. But Lin hasn't skipped a post-game when the team lost or if he played badly.

 

lol

 

No problem here with James missing the media session!!

 

I like how you edit your quotes of me. LOL

 

Well at least Houston is getting some media attention. Now if they can only get TV deals.

 

The gist of what you said is that what Harden did is bad and what Lin did is okay.

And thanks for the complement.

P.S. to the other guy, Lin didn't even want to go to Harvard.

 

Isn't it strange how post-game interviews get so many more views than pre-game interviews? Somebody should investigate that.