LeBron James on the cover of Sports Illustrated (February 2, 2009).

BY CHARLES COSTELLO

The handshake is one of those everyday rituals that only sports can turn into a spectacle.

When Eric Mangini was coaching the Jets, his postgame handshakes with Patriots’ head coach Bill Belichick became back page news in the New York tabloids because of the tension between the two. Hockey players, after spending up to seven games of a playoff series beating the daylights out of each other, proceed slowly down the line at center ice, shaking hands with the very same opponents they tried to maul just moments earlier. Football players come together after Sunday afternoon battles to shake hands and embrace. Tennis players meet at the net for a post-match handshake, then go so far as to shake the hand of the chair umpire. And we know what a player-umpire confrontation can look like during a tennis match. John McEnroe anyone?

So last Saturday night after LeBron James and his Cavaliers went home for the summer following their loss to the Orlando Magic in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals, the King made news. News that became bigger than anything he’d done with a basketball all season. That’s because James left the court without shaking hands and congratulating the Magic. And left Amway Arena without talking to the media. On Sunday, he offered this explanation:

“It’s hard for me to congratulate somebody after you just lose to them. 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.”

What doesn’t make sense is James’ reasoning. First, I respect the fact that he’s a competitor. He wants to win. LeBron’s done just about everything right since being crowned King James back in high school, before he even started playing for money. Since entering the NBA, he’s done nothing but represent himself, the Cavaliers, and the league with class. But he’s wrong here. It’s good sportsmanship to congratulate your opponent, whether you beat them up or they beat you up.

Even William Rhoden, not one to frequently take issue with players, said in Tuesday’s New York Times that he expected more from James. This from Rhoden’s column:

“So, this is new-era sportsmanship as defined by King James: Winners don’t shake hands with their opponents after they lose; competitors storm off when the result doesn’t go their way.

So-called street credibility works both ways. You gain it by exhibiting a toughness critics may have thought you lacked, and you lose it by acting like a prima donna who has started to believe the corporate hype. You don’t knock the pieces off the chess table just before you’re checkmated.

Unless you’re the king.

…That’s fine, but when you lose a heartbreaking series, you have to go out with your guys and shake hands with the team that beat you. 

You can’t have it both ways. Even when you’re king.”

A Handshake Is Hardly Too Much to Ask, Even From a King (William C. Rhoden, New York Times, June 2, 2009)

Rhoden is Barry Bonds’ biggest defender in the media. He’s recently come out in support of Michael Vick. To the best of our knowledge and judgment, James never did steroids, never lied to a grand jury, and never sponsored dog fighting at his home. And yet Rhoden called him out on this one.

...and on the cover of ESPN The Magazine (May 4, 2009).

It’s a simple gesture. Shake hands and congratulate your opponent. It doesn’t make you any less of a competitor to do so after a loss. It’s too easy to do after a win. Both your actions and excuses were wrong, LeBron. We expect more from a King.

And then there’s the issue of James leaving Amway Arena without talking to the media. The face of the franchise. The face of the league. A man who’s going to make more money than anyone else in his next contract. A King. And apparently someone too big – you may say too small - to stand in front of the notepads and recorders following a season-ending loss.

Perhaps LeBron should consult Derek Jeter. The Yankee captain was given that title in 2003 largely because of his ability, and willingness, to answer the tough questions, to be the face of the franchise, win or lose. While Jeter’s done a lot of winning - four championships from 1996 to 2000 - there’ve been seven season-ending playoff losses this decade. After each one, Jeter was in front of the cameras and reporters. And maybe LeBron can pay a visit to Michael Jordan. Granted, Jordan did far more winning that losing. But anytime the Bulls did lose, Jordan didn’t run out of the arena like LeBron did. Always the competitor, Jordan appeared agitated yet determined following a loss. He was the face of the NBA. He understood what it meant to be Air Jordan.

And that brings me to Fordham. Head coach Dereck Whittenburg suffered through the most difficult season of his basketball career, as both a player and coach, in 2008-09. Three wins in 28 tries. Plenty of player discontent and off-the-court distractions. In his sixth season at Fordham, Whittenburg experienced it all. And yet, after every game, after heartbreaking defeats and blowout losses, the head coach, the leader of the team, sat in front of a Fordham banner with that night’s stat sheet in front of him, answering question after question. Or perhaps the post-game interview would be conducted in the coaches’ locker room, underneath the Rose Hill Gym. There, Whittenburg would try to explain how the game got away, how he was keeping his team focused and motivated. And believe me, when you experience a season like Fordham did, the questions get tougher and tougher. Still, he sat there and answered every last one.

You might be thinking that it’s part of his job, that win or lose he has a responsibility to face the media. And you’re right. But on two separate occasions this year, Xavier’s Sean Miller, now the head coach at Arizona and a guy everyone liked to hold up as the gold standard of Atlantic 10 coaches, blew off the media after losses. Keep in mind, Miller gladly met the media after each of the 27 wins.

Some in the media, fueled largely by an angry fan base, have gone after Whittenburg and the program quite hard this offseason. But from a media perspective, as someone who attended every home game and interviewed him after every game, you won’t find a coach who’s more generous with his time, who’s more candid with his responses. A man who doesn’t run from a challenge. This is the type of person we all should be rooting for.

Whittenburg likes to say that in times of adversity you learn about yourself and discover who your true supporters are. LeBron could learn a thing or two from Whittenburg, and other winners, who show their true character by the way they respond to losing.

(Charles Costello can be reached at charlescostello@optonline.net)

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