Don't talk trash to him.

Chapter 157 LeBron at the Crossroads

Danny Ferry had a friendly negotiation with Zhu Fangyu as soon as he saw his comments: "Whether you want to be traded to another team or return to the CBA, I will fully cooperate. I don't know what the situation is between you, LeBron and Jeff, but I hope there will be no misunderstanding. Our attitude has always been very clear, and I think you should have contact with Su, you can ask him, we are good friends!"

After the conversation, Zhu Fangyu actually called Su Wan immediately to ask him whether he should continue to stay in the league or go back to play in the CBA.

Su Wan said: "You can think about this matter slowly. What I want to know now is, are you satisfied with LeBron's apology?"

Zhu Fangyu: "Of course I'm not satisfied!"

Although LeBron apologized, the reason he apologized was that his actions caused Zhu Fangyu's misunderstanding and he felt sorry. He also very generously forgave Zhu Fangyu for hitting him.

Zhu Fangyu was very clear that he had not misunderstood!

At that time, LeBron just wanted to stop him.

But words are not enough, and he has no evidence, so he can only pursue the matter to this extent.

In fact, he was already very satisfied that he had been able to pursue the matter to this point.

Just listening to Su Wan's tone, it seems that he can still get back at the situation?
Of course he was not satisfied!

Su Wan said: "In that case, you should spread the word that you plan to go back to play in the CBA!"

"and then?"

"Then you just wait and watch the fun!"

"Row!"

Zhu Fangyu didn't ask any more questions and immediately followed what Su Wan said and revealed to the outside world that he was going to leave the NBA and return to play in the CBA.

That night, Su Wan was asked by reporters about his opinion on this matter.

"He must be a little disappointed. The league has been slow to make a statement, and the Cavaliers only suspended McGinnis. LeBron, as the leader of the team, used an excuse that everyone could see was ridiculous and escaped with a light apology. He even magnanimously forgave Zhu Fangyu for hitting him! Then please ask him to answer directly whether he saw Jeff trying to snatch Zhu Fangyu's lunch box!"

"besides……"

“Is what Jeff said on Facebook true?”

"Does LeBron really hate all Chinese people?"

"This is a very sensitive topic. I think the league and LeBron must give an explanation!"

"I don't want a light "I'm sorry" like Shaquille O'Neal said back then. What I want to see is attitude. From Yao Ming becoming the No. 02 pick in 2 to now, in just two years, there has already been an incident of racial discrimination, and now there is another incident of suspected racial discrimination. Did we tolerate Shaq back then just to see LeBron today?"

"Asian Weekly" expressed support for Su Wan as soon as possible.

It was also when they used racist language against Shaq and before Yao Ming could fight back, they took the lead in fighting back, threatening that if O'Neal dared to go to Chinatown, they would tear him to pieces.

It was their protests and questions, coupled with the harsh criticism from O'Neal's father, that led to Shaquille O'Neal's apology.

In fact, Asians and Asian Americans have never had an easy time in America. They are often subjected to racist remarks and have no support. Those Asian Americans who have climbed up only hate their own skin and hate Asian Americans and Asians more than blacks and whites. They will not speak up for them at all.

When Yao Ming encountered racial discrimination, they thought they had someone speaking for this group, but they didn't expect Yao Ming to be a wimp. Shaq just said sorry and let the matter go.

The good news is that they have once again waited for someone who is willing to speak for this matter. They are also very clear about Su Wan's character. The alliance is notoriously tough.

Therefore, when Suwan spoke out, this time all Asians and Asian people gathered all their energy to support him from behind.

Because they know that if they miss this opportunity, they won’t know when they will meet someone as tough as Su Wan again!

Not only them, but all the fans in Indiana are also Suwan's spiritual support.

These groups stood behind Su Wan, so much so that his questioning once again caused a stir in the alliance.

Shaquille O'Neal, who has always been disdainful of Suwan this season, did not dare to be stubborn this time and reiterated his point of view:

"At that time, I was at the peak of my career. Sometimes I spoke without thinking. Now I have deeply realized the seriousness of the problem. I have been reflecting on it. Even to this day, I still regret that I did not correctly understand the meaning of that word at that time."

He was extremely panicked.

And David Stern at headquarters threw his glasses on the table again.

He had just finished a meeting with the investigation team that came back from Cleveland, and the results of the handling of the Cavaliers were also announced:

Since the Cavaliers have already imposed an indefinite suspension on McGinnis for bullying, and LeBron James explained the reasons for his behavior at the time, saying it was just a misunderstanding, and apologized for the misunderstanding, the league will not impose additional penalties on McGinnis and LeBron, but will fine the Cavaliers management $30.

The reason is that they did not guide the correct locker room atmosphere, which had a huge impact on the image of the league.

But as McGinnis and LeBron engaged in a dog-eat-dog fight that brought out more serious issues, this punishment was naturally ineffective.

There are fierce conflicts between Asians and Asian groups.

This period happens to be a critical time for the NBA to enter the Chinese market. If it is not handled properly, the development of the NBA may regress by 6 years.

The worst thing is that labor and management just renewed their labor contract this summer.

With the rapid development of the league, the bosses have made a lot of money compared to the late 90s and are living a life of luxury.

This time, David Stern took the initiative to give some of the profits to the labor side.

As the labor representative this time, Ewing also became a major contributor to the players' union.

He had just made concessions to the labor side, but the development of the league "regressed" because of this incident. At that time, he will be held accountable by the owners of the league's 30 teams.

Moreover, the team has just experienced a bullying incident, and now there is a racial discrimination incident.

How can we promote the concept of “basketball without boundaries”?

In short, the pressure from all sides made him call Rich Paul and Danny Ferry immediately: "I need you to solve this problem before tomorrow morning. If the adverse effects continue to increase, then I can only take extreme measures!"

This includes banning LeBron James!
If it really comes to that, the Cavaliers will be finished this year.

Moreover, the matter of promoting LeBron as a representative figure should be put on hold for the time being.

Danny Ferry heard the warning in David Stern's tone and did not dare to bargain at all. He said he would give an explanation to the outside world before tomorrow morning.

David Stern then hung up the phone.

Until this moment, he still wanted to keep LeBron.

It’s not easy to find a “chosen one” these days, and LeBron’s previous media image was also very perfect:

He has a stable girlfriend, has not abandoned his wife and children, and his private life is not chaotic. He is considered a moral role model off the court among black people.

He likes players like this.

But if it is really related to "racial discrimination", then there is no doubt that he must be punished even if he is the "chosen one". In fact, the most punishment is a fine and a suspension, which is not a fatal matter.

What is more serious than the punishment is that if the official imposes a punishment, it would be equivalent to putting a "racial discrimination" hat on LeBron's head. How can such a person be allowed to become the face of the league?

This is also the reason why David Stern did not impose any punishment after Shaquille O'Neal apologized and Yao Ming forgave him.

Shaquille O'Neal was the league's top center at the time. If he wore a racist hat, what would this league become?

This time is the same, David Stern leaves the fate to LeBron himself.

He was at the same fork in the road that Shaquille O'Neal was at.

The only difference is...

Su Wan is not as easy to talk to as Yao Ming.

"You want me to explain to the reporters again? What to explain? That was all Jeff's mad dog biting around. What can I explain?"

When LeBron heard Rich Paul asking him to "sit in jail" in front of the microphone again, resistance was written all over his face.

In the past two days, he felt that he was nothing like the "Chosen One" and even less like the "King"!
He felt like a prisoner, being interrogated every day.

Rich Paul could only patiently explain to him how critical the current situation was.

"If you really put on a racist hat, it's over! The league will not allow a player with clear racist tendencies to become their face!"

Just this one sentence successfully changed LeBron's expression. What he can't lose:
Current status and a bright future!
The "Chosen One" must become the face of the alliance!
"But what if they still hold on to the previous question and ask me whether I saw Jeff taking Zhu Fangyu's lunch box?" He was also screwed. Zhu Fangyu, this Chinese man, was too cruel. He even cursed and swore on his family. How could he curse his mother?
Rich Paul said, "How about you swear on your cheap daddy?"

"Don't mention that bastard to me. I won't rely on him for anything, even if it means cursing him to do something bad so that I can get through this difficult time!" He would never forgive his father.

forever!

Rich Paul's final question: "LeBron, are you sure you didn't say racist things about Chinese people in front of Jeff?"

This question made LeBron stunned. He had cursed Su Wan and Zhu Fangyu too many times in his heart. He himself was not sure whether he had ever used racist words to curse Su Wan and Zhu Fangyu in front of others.

Rich Paul made a "God bless" gesture and muttered, "Now I can only take a gamble. Anyway, I will never admit it!"

LeBron looked at his nervous expression and couldn't help but become nervous too.

The next morning, Danny Ferry and LeBron appeared at the press conference together again.

Danny Ferry planted the flag for LeBron first as agreed beforehand: "I believe in LeBron. He is not that kind of person (racist). He treats everyone very warmly. The Cavaliers will never allow racists to exist!"

Since the "bullying incident" has not yet passed, his comments about LeBron made many reporters doubt the authenticity of his remarks.

If LeBron is really enthusiastic about everyone, then things like McGinnis bullying Zhu Fangyu would never happen.

As the leader of the team and a person with a warm and welcoming personality, how could it be possible that McGinnis bullied Zhu Fangyu for a long time without stopping it?

So they didn't believe a word of what Danny Ferry said about LeBron, until LeBron started giving interviews.

They also directly asked LeBron whether he saw McGinnis taking Zhu Fangyu's lunch box?

The space in the private plane is not large. Zhu and Jeff must have had an argument. How could LeBron not hear such a loud noise?
The biggest possibility is that LeBron lied!
The aggressive atmosphere made LeBron feel a little breathless. He hadn't slept well in the past two days. He glanced at Danny Ferry next to him in panic.

The latter came to the rescue and said, "We have already answered this question last time, so I won't repeat it here. This press conference is mainly to clarify some of Jeff's negative remarks. LeBron has never said those racist words. These are all framed by Jeff!"

"Yes, these are all Jeff's frame-ups. He said that because he wants to harm me." LeBron was like a repeater beside him.

When the reporters heard him say this, seven or eight questions popped up immediately:
"Why would Jeff frame you?"

"Do you have any personal vendetta against him?"

"Or did you lie about what happened on the plane, and Jeff, who bore all the consequences alone, wanted to take revenge on you?"

The questions were extremely sharp, because many of the reporters were not sports reporters, but social media reporters.

After all, whether it is "bullying" or "racial discrimination", these are hot social news.

They usually write articles criticizing current social issues, and their perspectives are beyond the reach of ordinary sports journalists.

Faced with these questions, LeBron had no answers at all. He looked even more embarrassed than when reporters later asked him what the book he read was about. He hemmed and hawed for a long time but couldn't give any substantive explanation.

Danny Ferry next to him was almost going crazy. He knew very well that if LeBron was in this state, these reporters would continue to take advantage of the situation.

Sure enough, one reporter after another attacked him.

It just so happens that today's press conference is to give an explanation to the outside world. If things are not explained clearly, there is no way it will end.

LeBron was not just embarrassed. He was anxious, angry and annoyed. Suddenly, his eyes were hot. He could no longer control himself and burst into tears. He couldn't stop crying. He kept repeating the same words in his sobbing mouth: "I didn't say that. I really didn't say that!"

She looks like she is 8 years old, which is more than enough!
The reporters recorded his appearance one by one.

Rich Paul, who was on the sideline, looked at LeBron and thought to himself:
Finished!

Many of LeBron's endorsements require him to maintain the image of "the Chosen One" and "the King", just like Adidas later required James Harden to maintain his bearded image. Harden even spent millions every year to hire a team to take care of his beard.

But now, LeBron spoke unclearly like a little child and cried loudly at the press conference, which obviously affected his media image in these two aspects.

There’s nothing wrong with crying. Jordan cried when he won the championship.

But whose "chosen one" and "king" would burst into tears when faced with media questioning?

To put it bluntly, you will have to pay a lot of money.

As for whether the contract will be terminated...

At present, LeBron still hasn't made it clear about the racial discrimination issue. In addition, the label of "bullying" has been pinned on him. Some endorsements are bound to be lost, especially those brands targeting teenagers. They will not allow such a person to be their spokesperson.

It is estimated that the league will also impose penalties.

Sure enough, that afternoon after the press conference ended hastily, the league officials imposed penalties on the Cavaliers and LeBron.

The reasons are the same:
It has had a negative impact on the alliance.

No specific issues were mentioned.

David Stern still gave LeBron a chance.

The Cavaliers were fined $30 and LeBron was fined $10 and suspended for seven games.

Originally, Suwan did not intend to give up after seeing LeBron just cried and ended the press conference, but he was still quite satisfied with the subsequent punishment given by the league.

After all, McGinnis did not provide any conclusive evidence, so if the penalty was really too heavy, it would be quite unfair.

What if LeBron didn’t say it?

A seven-game suspension is not a small punishment.

If he didn't say that, then this suspension is a punishment for him condoning McGinnis' bullying.

Even though he didn't admit it, the media quickly deduced it.

If he had not lied at the previous press conference and insisted that he did not see McGinnis trying to take away Zhu Fangyu's lunch box, he could have easily explained why McGinnis threw dirty water on him.

Either admitting to "biased bullying" or "racism", LeBron's psychological quality made him cry. This is the media's speculation. They don't know that LeBron's tear glands also have some problems.

Su Wan was even happier when he saw the news that four or five brands had terminated their contracts with LeBron.

Also satisfied are the Asians and Asian forces who support Suwan. Seeing LeBron's miserable end, they felt that this was an unprecedented victory!
Su Wan's status in the eyes of this group of people has increased greatly.

Zhu Fangyu was also very happy to see the result, and then told Su Wan his idea: "I've made up my mind, Su Wan, I plan to return to China to play in the CBA!"

He added: "It's not that no one wants me, I just don't want to fight here anymore!"

Faced with this typical "Zhu Fangyu-style" attempt to save face, Su Wan said nothing.

And as far as he knew, after Zhu Fangyu announced that he would leave Cleveland, many general managers of other teams had called Danny Ferry.

I just don't know whether they value Zhu Fangyu's ability or his fighting power.

After all, the tradition of equipping the team leader with a "professional thug" is long-standing.

Michael Jordan once had Oakley, a professional thug, next to him. He not only beat outsiders but also his own people. In the early stage of Jordan's establishment of prestige in the team, he did a lot of dirty work, so the relationship between them was very good. Even after Oakley retired, he was still a part of Jordan's team. After Jordan went to the Bobcats to become the big boss, he reserved a position for him.

But Krause later discovered that what Jordan wanted was not a thug but a helper. He traded him to make the "Cobra" a normal team. With the growth of Pippen, they successfully got their first "three consecutive wins".

If Zhu Fangyu just wanted to be a role player in the NBA, then after the Cleveland plane incident, he had the capital to gain a foothold in this league.

But being someone else's lackey is not Zhu Fangyu's style.

Among the older generation of basketball players, many people think that "it is better to be the head of a chicken than the tail of a phoenix". Of course, pursuing dreams on a bigger stage is not a wrong idea and it is something that needs to be encouraged.

All I can say is that people are different and everyone has their own ideas.

Zhu Fangyu's strong self-esteem makes him prefer to return to the Guangdong team as the boss rather than being a lackey for other players in the NBA.

About two days after this phone call, Su Wan saw the news about the Cleveland Cavaliers' buyout of Zhu Fangyu in the media.

The sensational "Cleveland bullying incident" ended with McGinnis being suspended indefinitely, Zhu Fangyu returning to the CBA, and "the chosen one" LeBron James losing five or six endorsements, paying a large sum of liquidated damages, and being suspended for seven games.

As for Newbell and others, I heard that they were also fined by Danny Ferry.

Ok……

The management paid out 30 yuan for this matter, and they really need to "suck" some of the money back from the instigators.

But the impact of this incident did not dissipate easily.

In particular, the photo of LeBron crying at the press conference had a profound impact.

His calm image in front of the media was completely shattered. At the same time, many media outlets made comments like "Suwan is right" and "It turns out Suwan had already seen through LeBron."

From this perspective, Su Wan became the biggest winner in this matter.

After this battle, LeBron was seriously injured. I heard that he has been holding a fan meeting in Cleveland recently.

In this smaller occasion, he was no longer so nervous, and sharply denounced McGinnis's "water ghost" behavior, while establishing himself as a victim: "I never said such words. He was just creating public opinion and wanted to divert the outside world's attention from his bullying of newcomers. He succeeded. Now no one is discussing him."

Then, he announced that he would donate 1 million to support associations that denounce bullying and racial discrimination, using practical actions to distance himself from the issue.

There is still some effect, at least Cleveland still supports him.

But his previous remedial measures were too poor, the influence of public opinion had already been formed, and the overall environment was still difficult to change.

Rich Paul told him: "Now all you can do is wait until you come back, focus on the game and perform well."

An athlete's reputation ultimately depends on his performance on the field.

Kobe got into such a big trouble, but he gradually recovered, didn’t he?
Shaquille O'Neal made clear racist remarks, and he is still the No. 1 "Big Shark" in the league.

LeBron James is suspected of "tolerating bullying" and "racism", let alone playing well and saying to the media: "I have experienced a lot from that incident, and it is a test for me!"

The media will immediately give comments like "It's cooked, it's cooked, it's really cooked now."

When it comes down to it, public opinion is just a process of repeated sit-ups.

Rich Paul remains optimistic.

As for LeBron James, his biggest feeling about this matter is that he has thoroughly witnessed the power of public opinion. When all the media were praising him before, he was the high and mighty "son of destiny", but when all the media attacked him, he was suspected of being "bullying" and "racially discriminatory" "mud".

“I have to have my own media outlet!”

In this way, he can hear the voice that he really wants to hear.

The time for 7 games is not long, it is only half a month, which is not short either, because it made him miss this year's "Christmas War" with Carmelo Anthony.

Of course, given his current situation, not appearing on "America Live" is the right choice.

Obviously David Stern also thought carefully when arranging the suspension.

Christmas is equivalent to the Chinese Spring Festival.

There is a saying in China that “a new year means a fresh start”, and in America there is also a saying that “a new year means a new beginning”.

LeBron just sat on the bench and watched Carmelo Anthony shine on the stage of "Christmas Scum".

After the game, he heard even more sad news:
Su Wan scored another 41 points in tonight's "Huaxia Derby".

Why say it again?

Because this is the third time that Suwan has scored 7 points in 40 games since the game between the Pacers and the Cavaliers.

Suwan has been in particularly good form since LeBron's suspension.

In this "China Derby", the Pacers easily won by 112 points with a score of 98 to 14.

After defeating the Rockets, the Pacers' ranking has unknowingly risen to third in the Eastern Conference, and their record has caught up with the leading team.

After the game, Yao Ming hugged Su Wan and looked at him with envy.

Yao Ming was very successful in November. His personal performance and team performance exceeded expectations, and he won the first "Player of the Month" award in his career. I thought that after McGrady returned, they could go one step further and become a strong team in the West.

But the result was unexpected...

After McGrady's return, the Rockets' overall record has deteriorated and they have now fallen back to sixth place in the Western Conference.

The winner of the "Most Beautiful Calf Award" has just returned. His poor condition is one thing, but the key is that his return has forced Yao Ming to withdraw from the absolute core tactical position. He can no longer receive the ball as frequently as before on the court, and most of the time he is just a runner-up on the court.

The offensive state requires the continuous maintenance of shooting rights. Without the shooting rights, it is difficult to maintain that momentum.

Just like in tonight's game, Yao Ming scored 6 points in a row at the start and was in very good shape.

But then McGrady inexplicably became the main attacker. Not only did he make only 4 of 1 shots, but when the ball was given to Yao Ming, his offensive state was gone.

The Pacers controlled the tempo of the game almost from the first quarter.

At the end of the game, Yao Ming made 17 of 8 shots and 3 of 3 free throws, scoring 19 points. His shooting percentage was about 11% lower than in November.

McGrady only shot 22 of 7 from the field, a hit rate of 31.8%!

McGrady, who was already anxious because of his poor form after his comeback, was even more anxious tonight when facing Suwan who was in excellent form. How could he, a two-time "scoring champion", be beaten by a sophomore rookie?
This is absolutely not allowed.

The result was that Artest and Suwan took turns in the "round-the-clock battle" and had no temper at all.

But the bad thing is that the problem clearly lies with McGrady, but public opinion in Houston has begun to bombard Yao Ming, believing that he is not qualified for the maximum salary and it would be better for him to quickly sign the contract offered by the Rockets.

Su Wan is a sensitive person.

He had only suspected it at first, but now, he knew very well that there must be someone behind these voices.

As for who it is, it’s easy to guess.

In such matters, whoever benefits is the winner, and Bill Duffy thinks so too.

This is also the most uncomfortable thing for Yao Ming. He is playing with sincerity with the Rockets management, and the Rockets management is playing with public opinion with him.

"Dayao, if I were you, I would leave tonight and fight to the bitter end."

Dayao twitched the corner of his mouth.

Su Wan's character of "fighting if you don't agree" really makes him...envious!

He really wanted to live so freely.

But Su Wan only needs to consider his own mood.

He has a lot to consider.

However, he found that he seemed to care less about whether he had to stay in the Rockets.

The sentence that Su Wan said touched him the most was "If you don't respect yourself, how can others respect you?"

Every time when he was persuaded by "Team Yao" to "take a step back and the world will be broader", he would think of this sentence and then say with determination: "I can't compromise like this!"

Now he is even more determined.

It was obvious that he played well, but McGrady played so badly.

The Houston media didn’t blame McGrady;

This really doesn't make sense!

After the "Christmas Game", the annual NBA All-Star starting lineup voting channel will open.

On December 12, LeBron James, who was playing his first game after his comeback, let out his energy against the Bobcats, scoring 27 points, 37 rebounds and 8 assists.

Cleveland media reporters looked at the brave LeBron and shouted, "The King of Cleveland is back!"

Facing the media after the game, LeBron was also very positive and strong and said: "I hope I can be in this year's All-Star starting lineup. I believe I have the ability and I also believe I have the qualifications!"

But what LeBron didn't expect was that his remarks were attacked by many media:

"A team leader who protects bullies like this actually wants to be a starter in the NBA All-Star Game? Is there no one left in the NBA?"

"Racists don't deserve to be in the All-Star starting lineup!"

"The NBA is really getting worse every year. LeBron was suspected of bullying and racism, and he was released so quickly!"

LeBron was stunned by these dissenting voices.

He thought everything was over, but now it seems...

All this is not over at all!
And it looked as if there was no way to get through.

If Su Wan knew that LeBron was so surprised, he would definitely say to him:
It’s been two and a half years since the Eagle County incident, which is enough time for a trainee to debut. Do you think the media has let Kobe off?
Although LeBron is only suspected, the fact that he condones bullying has basically been confirmed, otherwise Jeff McGinnis would not be chasing him on Facebook like a mad dog.

So how could it be over so quickly!
By the way, there are 4 updates daily, at 6am, 12pm, 6pm, and 12am.

Each chapter has 4 words, and 1 words are updated daily.

If there is no update at a certain time, it means that the next chapter will be a 2-in-1 chapter of 8 words.

The purpose is to make some important plots smoother.

Improve the refreshing feeling.

Finally, I still ask for monthly ticket support.

Thanks, brothers.


(End of this chapter)