LeBron James done for the year?

[IrishHand]

Apparently, James was given two jerseys by a clothing store manager worth ~$900. If this is the case, his eligibility is done like dinner.

The Rule: An athlete forfeits his or her amateur status by "capitalizing on athletic fame by receiving money or gifts of monetary value."

The Facts: Store manager Derrick Craig said the store's owner gave the jerseys to James for free. "We get celebrities in here all the time," said Craig, who would not identify the owner. "They spend a lot of money and sometimes you just got to give them some love."

Based on what's been reported, his senior year is done unless they let him give the jerseys back.

[IrishHand]

lol

They just posted on ESPN.com that " LeBron James, the nation's top high school player, has been ruled ineligible to play for the rest of the season. The Ohio High School Athletic Association ruled Friday that James violated amateur bylaws by accepting clothing as a gift."

I assume he'll try to appeal. Hey - at least he's got a nice ride, and now he can start cashing in a little earlier than anticipated.

[HDPM]

Maybe the best thing for him. Screw playing for no cash and risking injury. He should live in a Michelin Man suit with biohazard filtration or something until the signing bonus clears and he's shilling for reebok or nike or whatever. The rules of amateur status have grown increasingly weaker, but it seemed clear he was getting some things, even if the Hummer was technically ok. I wish him a big score.

[scalf]

/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif probably would not have been elgible to play college ball...lol..gl /forums/images/icons/smirk.gif

[IrishHand]

Not any more. /forums/images/icons/smile.gif

[IrishHand]

Yeah...the big benefit for him now is that he can get an agent right away and start signing endorsement deals, in addition to hiring a proper trainer to get himself ready for his private workouts. Of course, he'll surely only work out for the top 2 teams...and maybe any high-profile team that expresses an interest in trading up for him if Cleveland gets the top pick and he sticks to his "won't play for Cleveland" approach. *sigh*

[HDPM]

Notice though in the whole bit with not playing for Cleveland, he himself didn't say anything. It was a "source close to..." deal. This was a smart move, probably after advice, that gives him a lot of leverage. If Cleveland doesn't get the #1 pick, nothing gained or lost. If they do, he has a bargaining tool. He can agree to sign before the draft for a bunch of money - more than he would have gotten before. He can then deny saying he wouldn't play for Cleveland. Not so dumb. Not playing for the team that drafts you is risky, but sometimes works. Elway did OK. I of course don't believe in drafts and think the teams should fight over players in all-out bidding wars. /forums/images/icons/grin.gif

[IrishHand]

He can agree to sign before the draft for a bunch of money - more than he would have gotten before.
The NBA has a rookie wage scale. If he goes #1 overall, he will get a little more than Yao Ming.

From ESPN.com: The value of the first three years of Yao's deal is $12,442,680, as slated by the NBA rookie salary guidelines. The deal also is expected to include an option for a fourth season which will bring its total value to about $18 million.

Not playing for the team that drafts you is risky, but sometimes works. Elway did OK.
I abhor the concept, myself. However, the last two NBA guys who basically refused to play for their drafting team did phenomenally well - Kobe Bryant (refused Charlotte in favor of pre-arranged deal with LA) and Steve Francis (refused Vancouver, now shining in Houston). Of course, publicly whining about who's going to draft you can move you down a bit in the draft, but in the long run, I suspect it's worth it for them if they really have a problem playing somewhere.

[Bill Murphy]

Amateur athletics, gotta love it. Not how self-righteous the commission was; "we treated him like anyone else".

It's all about the student-athlete! Teenage singers & actors must laugh their asses off at college athletes=suckers.

Wonder if LeBron even knows who Unseld & Gale Sayers are/were? How cool would Chuck Bednarik & Bob Pettit jerseys have been in a 1983 high school? /forums/images/icons/shocked.gif /forums/images/icons/laugh.gif

[adios]

James has a big insurance policy guaranteeing him millions if he gets injured and can't play in the pros.

[adios]

I guess he's going to court over this decision by the OHSAA. Unbelievable decision by them. Hopefully he can go to court and end this nonsense of all these folks getting big bucks while "amateurs" get nothing for their efforts. Supposedly St. Vincent-St. Mary, James's high school gets $30,000 a game whenever he's on TV. Apparently one of the cable companies in Ohio started televising his games.

[adios]

"Wonder if LeBron even knows who Unseld & Gale Sayers are/were?"

That's what I was wondering. I couldn't believe that he would be into Wes Unseld. I mean I'm not sure if Unseld could even dunk. Supposedly he's the best high school football player in Ohio as well but skipped his senior year of football. Therefore he might like Sayers but I agree it's way before his time.

[Ray Zee]

i dunno tom, i thought you made a choice. play amature and get nothing or play pro for money. if you let ametures get something than there is no such thing as amature sports anymore. maybe thats okay.

[Bill Murphy]

Just read on espn.com the Lebron *already* owned a Wes Unseld jersey before all this. Apparently, he like the colors being "patriotic" & that it "went with everything". Note: I'm searching for the right graemlin to insert here, bit I don't see one...

Wes Unseld. The only thing cooler would be an ol' Artis Gilmore Kentucky Colonels jersey.

[Clarkmeister]

The Artis Gilmore card was practically automatic in an old basketball card game a friend owned. He only had a few shots though.

[adios]

To be honest Ray I never thought about putting a lot of value on amateur athletics but upon further review I can see that yes they are valuable. From what I read about LeBron he seems like a good kid so I'm glad he was reinstated today.