Links: JR Stops Riding
Plus news and notes from around the League…
I was out at dinner Saturday night when I felt my Sidekick buzz. I have to check my Sidekick every time it buzzes, because not a lot of people have the address, just the people I want to be in touch with. So when it buzzes, I check it. (Only problem is that I’ve been getting dozens of spam emails every day as well. So eighty percent of the time it buzzes, I check it and it’s “Lengthen Your…” or something like that.)
Anyway, Saturday night I got an actual email from a friend, entitled simply, “Again…,” and reading:
JR Rider was arrested on auto theft charges earlier today in Cali…
Sure enough, JR was arrested for driving a car that had been reported stolen. Also, he was in an area of Los Angeles called Skid Row, which sounds like the kind of place you don’t really want to be hanging out. There’s not much else I can add to JR’s story at this time, other than to say I hope he gets himself straightened out. I’m so tired of having to report these kind of stories about him, one of my favorite players back in the ’90s. But the stories just keep on coming.
Of course, just a few weeks ago, while on the lam, JR was arrested for arguing with a cab driver. When that happened, we here at SLAM were putting the finishing stories on an Old School Rider story that ran in SLAM 116. The last photo we had of J.R. was from back in his playing days, so we got on the phone with the clink out in Cali and, thanks to the Freedom of Information Act (holla!), we got our hands on JR’s most recent mugshot (from last month, not last week). Enjoy.
• Watched a little college ball this weekend, enough to see Kansas’ Sasha Kaun and to decide if he ever gets a feature in SLAM, we have to call it “I Feel For You.”
• NBA news of the weekend had to be the Heat making 17 field goals last night against Boston…for the entire game!
• Quote of the weekend, from Kirk Snyder regarding Matt Harpring: “He’s a physical specimen, kind of like myself.”
• Also this weekend, I was flipping through the TV listings when I saw that Wrestlemania was going down last night. I used to be a big wrestling head back in the day, but not so much anymore, now that it’s fake and all.
Anyway, because I was curious, I turned over to the Pay Per View channel to see how much it might cost to order. You know how much is cost? $55! For that much cash I might as well be there in person. No wonder Vince McMahon’s making bucks.
• Linkstigator Ronny sent along this link to James White participating in a dunk contest in Turkey. I watched it earlier and he does a lot of the stuff he’s known for, including the through-the-legs dunk from the free throw line. Weird thing is he doesn’t seem to be competing against anyone. Or maybe I just need to watch it closer.
• Also, Linkstigator Allen sent along this link to a site that has HD clips of Lakers games. I couldn’t get any of the clips to play on my computer, but the site looks pretty slick.
• I had no idea that napping is a common trait among successful people, but apparently it is. Matt Harpring, also.
• I’m as excited as anyone over the start of the baseball season, but can we all scale back our expectations for my Braves a little, please? Our starting rotation averages about 35 years old, which is not a good thing. still, Peter Gammons, Jayson Stark and Ken Rosenthal all have the Braves going at least to the World Series, which has me terrified. And today Peter King said that young Braves shortstop Yunel Escobar (one of my favorite Braves) is going to finish fourth in the N.L. MVP voting. Seriously? Only if Chipper and Tex finish in the top three.
• All the hubbub over LeBron and Giselle on the cover of Vogue looking like King Kong and Fay Wray is interesting to me, since I work in magazines and usually have a hand in conceptualizing the cover of SLAM. Do you know how a magazine cover comes about? Let’s run it down real quick like…
1. You figure out who’s going to be on the cover. This is the hardest part, because you have to think about three months ahead. If LeBron has a big game last night and you’re running a website, you put him on the front the next day; with a magazine, you have to try and guess who is going to be hot when the magazine is actually on newsstands. (Sometimes this doesn’t work out so well.) At SLAM, this process is ongoing, something the entire editorial staff is talking about constantly.
2. Once you figure out who should be on the cover, you approach that person (or the person you go through to get to that person) and try to convince that person to give you about three hours of his precious off time. Sometimes said person will not give you three hours, or even 1 hour. If this happens you start over at step one. If it doesn’t…
3. You come up with a concept. Maybe it’s a guy chilling in the sunshine in Cali, maybe it’s a guy in the shape of the NBA logo, maybe it’s two guys getting ready to square off. Whatever it is, everyone eventually agrees on something that will tell a story. Then you pitch it to the guy, get him to agree and then set up a photo shoot, which is usually a pretty grandiose production and involves hiring a photographer who can best execute our vision or even improve on it.
4. You do a photo shoot and try your best to pull off your concept.
5. A few days later, you start laying out the cover, which not only means choosing the best photo but also figuring out all the words on the cover and how they should fit in around the image. It also means coming up with a main cover line, which should be catchy, familiar, inventive and cool. Easy right?
All of that stuff is about a three or four week process, and when you do a dozen issues a year, it means you’re pretty much constantly going through the process. We spend weeks staring at a cover before you guys even see it. We know every inch of the image, which names are where, everything.
All of that to say, if nobody at Vogue had any idea that their cover was aping (ha!) an old King Kong image, they’re lying. On Gawker, Nick Denton writes that Vogue “seems to have been caught unawares.” (He’s British, so he can use words like “unawares” and it’s OK.)
But I think the key word there is “seems,” because I find it really hard to believe they had no idea what they were getting themselves into. Since the issue dropped, bloggers all over the place have been writing about it after seeing it for just a few hours or days. Vogue worked on this for at least a few weeks. Somebody had to notice it.
Or plan it, maybe.
• And you thought we in New York could come up with a sex scandal involving prominent public figures…well, we got nothing on England.
• Speaking of England, caught the British flick “The Bank Job” over the weekend and really enjoyed it. It’s better than “Juno,” at least.
• And finally, Linkstigator Paul writes…
Hey Lang,
Everyone’s looking past Webber’s retirement and forgetting the fact that not only could the dude ball, but he had some of the finest kicks that Nike ever put out. I don’t care what anyone says, Nike peaked in the ’90s with ballers shoes. And Webber was key to this before he fell out with them about the prices of their shoes. Think about it, there’s shoes being rehashed by Nike now that are being sold as retro (Zoom 96, Barkleys, Flights, 180’s), but I think this is Nike just running out of creativity.
Without a doubt, the finest shoe ever produced was the Air Unlimited, and for me it was an epiphany. [There’s a few pictures here.—Lang] I’d already been hooked on the Huraches and the Maestros that Pip was rockin back in the day, and the Jordans we consistently brilliant, but that all star game in Minnesota — the first rookie game, where Webber was bangin’ 360 dunks and runnin’ the point in the Air Unlimited. I was sold. The best Nike shoe ever. Y’all can have your AF1’s and your Flights, but the Air Unlimited was the shoe. A bigger leap forward than Shox ever was.
Of course with Nike rolling out all the previous shoes I wait until this one pops, but they’re holding back. Why??? You cannot find these shoes anywhere. They are rare as rocking horse sh*t. Can you dig about and find out if Nike are planning on putting them out?
All I can do is put it out there, Paul, although considering how you kissed up so much, they’ll probably definitely look to take of you, now.
115 Responses to “Links: JR Stops Riding”
Mar.31 at 3:20 pm
ED LEEDSKALNIN says:
in his honor, im going to smoke weed out of a sprite can.
Mar.31 at 3:31 pm
Eboy says:
Great insight into the cover picks, Lang. And thanks for pointing out another fantastic stat about the Heat.
Mar.31 at 3:32 pm
Alex says:
Drove through Skid Row looking for the interstate a few years ago in LA. Let me tell you, I’ve lived my whole life in Miami and Skid Row is about 25 times scarier and sadder than anything I’ve seen here.
Mar.31 at 3:33 pm
Ken says:
Whoa, that King James/King Kong cover thing is messed up. I’d be p*ssed if I were LeBron.
Mar.31 at 3:35 pm
Myles Brown says:
I dont think Annie Lebowitz was intentionally looking for that portrayal of Bron, but I too cant believe that she looked at those images and didnt see it.
Mar.31 at 3:35 pm
Khalid Salaam says:
Air Unlimited is cool but nothing compared to the Huarache.
Mar.31 at 3:37 pm
H to the izzo says:
The Starting Five went crazy over the LeBron cover.
Mar.31 at 3:38 pm
Khalid Salaam says:
Can’t believe that this king kong thing is still such a raging issue. I trust the media less than anyone so nothing surprises me but this just doesn’t bother me.
Mar.31 at 3:39 pm
Lz - Cphfinest3 says:
Wow JR looks bloated, weird considering he should get enough exercise running from the cops. The Air Unlimited’s were fresh for sure (top 10 sneaker IMO), I seriously have a friendship formed over those shoes; was at a basketballcamp in 1993 saw a guy wearing them, just had to ask him “where did you get those”? - we are friends till this day.
Mar.31 at 3:42 pm
Lz - Cphfinest3 says:
Vogue portraying LeBron King Kong’ish was probably just to get more media attention; knowing LeBron he could just as well have been in on it.
Mar.31 at 3:43 pm
Sam Rubenstein says:
Just want to point out that this is Links #666 - at least since we went to the new system that keeps track of them, and JR Rider is the topic.
LeBron/Gisele cover not a wise move for Vogue. If only they had a scene about that cover meeting in Devil Wears Prada
Mar.31 at 3:43 pm
Captain America says:
Ink dries, rain drops, birds sing, JR arrested — see the pattern?
Mar.31 at 3:44 pm
Eboy says:
It could have been so less topical if they could have left Lebron with a calm expression. Nice about the #666 thing, Sam. Eerie, to be sure.
Mar.31 at 3:47 pm
Lz - Cphfinest3 says:
And Please Lang as much at it hurts you, keep posting news from JR’s new career.
Mar.31 at 3:58 pm
Khalid Salaam says:
Yeah but its not like the model is screamin or anything, she’s happy. And smiling. Its not like she’s mini-sized. People are reaching
Mar.31 at 4:00 pm
Eboy says:
It’s not like he’s wearing a fu*king gorilla suit on top of the Empire State Building or she’s in chains like she was on Skull Island! It’s such bullsh*t.
Mar.31 at 4:03 pm
Kevin Wilson says:
Here’s how AP led the story … not much else you need to know, other than Boston leading by 23 six minutes into the game … BOSTON, March 30, 2008 (AP) — Kevin Garnett offered polite praise of the Miami Heat before Paul Pierce interrupted the postgame news conference and said, “Man, I am going to tell you the truth.” Then he did. “They got D-Leaguers out there, so I think we just handled our business,” the Boston forward said, listing some of the five Miami players who spent time in the NBA’s developmental league this season. “We’re supposed to do that. We knew this was a game we were supposed to win, and we just focused from the jump and went out and did it.”
Mar.31 at 4:04 pm
mike says:
I don’t get what the big deal is about making him look like King Kong. He is such a freak of nature that equating his physique to a gorilla’s is not far off. I don’t get how anyone could turn it into a race issue?
Mar.31 at 4:08 pm
Khalid Salaam says:
eboy, ur last post confuses me
Mar.31 at 4:09 pm
Maurice Garland says:
thanks for dropping the magazine 101 lesson lang…no cover is done by mistake…misquotes, sometimes…misspellings, maybe…unchecked facts, hey it can happen…but a cover image done “unawares” of offending…please….Vogue, just like Golf Digest and their noose, knew exactly what they were doing… oh yeah, sheid, Skid Row looked scary on SicKo…ima take their word for it…
Mar.31 at 4:10 pm
ED LEEDSKALNIN says:
james white would have made dwight look like he was standing still.
Mar.31 at 4:10 pm
H to the izzo says:
People are blaming LeBron also: I’m really gonna need Lebron to step up and take some responsibility here. Like, seriously. My jaw fell open IMMEDIATELY when I saw this image. In what America is an image like this NOT obscenely offensive? We’ve got to stop letting these athletes slide, allowing them to offer weak explanations for offensive imagery and take “the high road” when they should be speaking up. I already couldn’t stand the Cav’s and wasn’t fond of Lebron, but it’s officially a wrap.
Mar.31 at 4:14 pm
H to the izzo says:
Those are not my words,BTW.
Mar.31 at 4:21 pm
Khalid Salaam says:
Alright for those of you who are offended now what?
Mar.31 at 4:23 pm
Ryan Jones says:
Myles, should I share my thoughts on this topic? Or you can just paraphrase me. I trust you.
Mar.31 at 4:26 pm
H to the izzo says:
Ryan:Your boy is getting a lot of the blame for this for some reason.
Mar.31 at 4:29 pm
Ryan Jones says:
He can handle it, Izzo.
Mar.31 at 4:29 pm
j says:
I hit lang up on the email, but Im nowhere in the circle of trust to have the tmail address.
Mar.31 at 4:31 pm
Ryan Jones says:
And I’m pretty confident saying he’s paying much, much less attention to this than the rest of us are. Water off LeBron’s back, as it were.
Mar.31 at 4:40 pm
Russ Bengtson says:
Global icons™ don’t care what you think. He’s trying to be a billionaire athlete, not some sort of a role model. If posing with Gisele sells more shoes and jerseys, who cares about stupid ‘history’?
Mar.31 at 4:41 pm
Cheryl says:
Kha, you know I’m with you most times, but this photo controversy has me a little conflicted. On the one hand, I see it like you, really no big deal. But in thinking globally, and the reach that Vogue has (and its readership demographics is a mystery to me, really, but I’m talking potential here) it must be raised that the consistent representation of black male = “beast” who “rages” for perfect white womanhood, can’t be ignored. I wish it weren’t the case, but there it is.
Mar.31 at 4:42 pm
Myles Brown says:
Maybe thats part of the problem Jones. I dont think people are reaching, and its not getting too much attention from mainstream media, but if all he has to say about this is “People are always gonna say something negative, I dont care” then I think thats the kind of attitude that got him in that position.
Mar.31 at 4:46 pm
Ryan Jones says:
Which position? The multi-gazillionaire and MVP candidate at 23?
Mar.31 at 4:46 pm
Ryan Jones says:
Note: I know that’s not what Myles meant. I also know that’s all LeBron cares about. It would be nice if the reality were different, but it’s not.
Mar.31 at 4:47 pm
Cheryl says:
I was just moderated, so let me put it another way: images are important, and repetition is key. when the image is embedded in the psyche, it’s so easy for it to surface when, say, kobe is accused of taking it from Ms. Eagle, Co.
Mar.31 at 4:48 pm
bballer says:
I’m sorry but I’m going to have to politely disagree with you on the Unlimited Air shoes. They were great shoes but the greatest and most comfortable basketball shoes ever made are the Huaraches.
Mar.31 at 4:49 pm
Myles Brown says:
Giselle probably makes more than 71.4% of her free throws…
Mar.31 at 4:55 pm
Ryan Jones says:
And for the record, here’s a distillation of what I told Mr. Brown over gmail and crumpets last week: I didn’t initially see why this bothered people, because I didn’t see it myself at first, second or third glance. But once others brought it up, I saw it and thought the concern was valid.
That said — and I have no interest or reason to defend anyone at Vogue, so I won’t — I’ll just say this: I (perhaps naively) think it’s POSSIBLE that they didn’t see color one this one; that they saw a big, beastly, aggressive athlete and jumped at the Kong visual, but that they would’ve done the same thing with, say, Chuck Liddell, Brian Urlacher or Tyler Hansbrough if any of them were famous or marketable enough.
I’m not saying this is what happened. But I think it’s possible.
Mar.31 at 4:58 pm
Cheryl says:
that would be an interesting research topic: photos of white athletes posed as ferocious “beasts” along side georgeous women )of any color). Tariq?
Mar.31 at 5:04 pm
deestarbuckz says:
The Air Unlimited was our team shoe (Black/Blue colorway). Now that I think about it, every thing that Webber rocked for those four years in school was what Webber rocked. Air Huarache, Air Max’s (Barkley’s), etc…
Mar.31 at 5:05 pm
Ryan Jones says:
Cut and paste this:
usversusthem.files.wordpress.com/2007/07/battier_shane_400.jpg
This, to me, is the most offensive of all.
Mar.31 at 5:06 pm
H to the izzo says:
When was the last time a white athlete was anywhere near that level of marketability anyway?Not that Vogue deserves to be defended in any instance(Who the f*ck buys Vogue?)anyway,but LeBron shouldn’t be getting the brunt of the flack.Yes,the image was offensive intentional or not and Vogue should have done some research but it seems to me that people are getting outraged for the sake of it.
Mar.31 at 5:06 pm
Ryan Jones says:
This too:
usversusthem.files.wordpress.com/2007/07/duncan_tim_400.jpg
I mean, this is just f*cked up.
Mar.31 at 5:06 pm
Myles Brown says:
…..?
Mar.31 at 5:07 pm
Ryan Jones says:
Izzo: Are you really convinced LeBron knew what was going on at the time and just didn’t care?
Mar.31 at 5:07 pm
H to the izzo says:
Please stop
Mar.31 at 5:09 pm
Ryan Jones says:
Wait, what happened?
Mar.31 at 5:09 pm
Co Co says:
I think the problem with LeBron and other athletes as well as young black people in general is that we haven’t experienced the type of racism that the generations before us experienced. LeBron as a pro athlete is as sheltered and pampered as any one person can possibly be so when he sees nothing but little white kids wearing his jersey he probably thinks we’re way beyond the old type of racism in this country. I’m not saying its right, but its something a lot of young people will never fully understand. We all go through racial situations at some point, but nothing to the degree of what our parents and grandparents experienced.
Mar.31 at 5:11 pm
Ryan Jones says:
And I’m saying I’ve been on 8 million photo shoots with NBA players (though admittedly none with a supermodel) and I think he was mostly focused on how Tom Brady’s arm candy was hanging all over him for three hours, and how he was going to get a relatively historic Vogue cover out of it. I’m telling you this sh*t did not occur to him until he saw the magazine. I would be all of LeBron’s money on this fact, and some of mine.
Mar.31 at 5:12 pm
H to the izzo says:
I’m not convinced that LeBron realized how offensive those images could potentially be.And I don’t think it’s fair to assume that LeBron should be constantly thinking about what backlash he would endure after everything he does.
Mar.31 at 5:12 pm
Maurice Garland says:
man…i am sooooo hoping Lebron just didnt know man…but the moment he finds out…i wonder how he’s going to feel or what he will say if anything….
Mar.31 at 5:13 pm
Myles Brown says:
And as I told Mr.Jones over crumpets, perhaps thats why Bron should have older management who would be more aware of these types of things. You know, since all hes thinking about is Jay Z and white women…
Mar.31 at 5:17 pm
Co Co says:
Izzo, LeBron is more aware of certain things than you think. Remember the petition he wouldn’t sign. LeBron knows full well what he’s after, that’s why he makes damn sure his name isn’t attached to anything that might get in the way of his Global Icon aspirations. He jumped at the chance to be the first Black Male on the cover of Vogue to enhance his image. He’s naive about a lot of things, but not about marketing himself. I don’t think he knew about the poster and I honestly don’t think being 23 years old he had sense enough to know that image would offend people. You live and you learn. He won’t make that mistake again, because even though he says he doesn’t care what people think, he does.
Mar.31 at 5:17 pm
Ryan Jones says:
Maurice: The photo you have on your blog is the one that bugs me out. The dress similarities are too much. I feel sicking looking at that sh*t.
Mar.31 at 5:19 pm
H to the izzo says:
There’s something to be said for actually teaching History,now I’m not sure how it’s done over there but taking things I learned from an early age into account,there are things I would definitely not do if I was in LeBron’s position(if LeBron was white and good at soccer).
Mar.31 at 5:20 pm
Ryan Jones says:
Again, I’d be all LeBron’s money that he’d never, ever seen that photo. And probably still hasn’t, unless someone actually put it under his nose.
Mar.31 at 5:21 pm
Ryan Jones says:
Why do I keep typing “be” when I mean to type “bet”? This is weird.
Mar.31 at 5:21 pm
H to the izzo says:
Ryan:Isn’t that the frame of reference everyone is going by?It was what I was going by anyway.And these crumpets you speak of sound delightful.
Mar.31 at 5:23 pm
Mendel says:
The car wasn’t stolen, it was a dope rental that was not turned in on time and the owner called it stolen. JR will beat the charge and possibly the dude reporting it stolen might catch a false report charge. JR posts bail shells out a nother G for representation, charges dropped and JR earns another 5 outta 5 gangsta on the Omar scale.
Mar.31 at 5:24 pm
Co Co says:
“Everything my name is on is going to be criticized in a good way or a bad way. …Who cares what anybody says.” That’s LeBron’s reaction to this whole mess. He feels this way right now, but he won’t do this again. And Izzo I’m not saying LeBron wasn’t paying attention in History class……..
Mar.31 at 5:24 pm
Ryan Jones says:
I’m not sure izzo. I’ve confused myself at this point. I think I’m still f*cked up from yesterday: Got sunburned while watching Obama speak with 22,000 of my closest friends; saw the LFC-EFC score; graded a bunch of papers last night. I’m a mess.
Mar.31 at 5:30 pm
H to the izzo says:
Ryan:Tough loss to the scouse sc*m.Oh ya…..4-0.
Were you electrified by O’Bama?
Mar.31 at 5:33 pm
Ryan Jones says:
Obama was good. And as long no red-clad team from Merseyside is winning anything, I don’t mind if your team does.
Mar.31 at 5:37 pm
H to the izzo says:
Yeah,it looks like it’s going our way alright,have you managed to make your way over Merseyside this year yet?I have some Everton tickets that are yours if you want them.I think its against Acrington Stanley or some bullsh*t team like that but I won’t be using them.
Mar.31 at 5:41 pm
Khalid Salaam says:
Can’t believe Ryan is grading papers..How do you know one of your students isn’t masquerading as one of the site commentators?….So when you guys see an aggressive black man you automatically think of “Beast” or something animal-like? Really? See i don’t have that kind of conditioning in my mind. I have a default system set up to where i see sh*t for real but I examine the context first. Otherwise all sorts of things can seem racist.
Mar.31 at 5:43 pm
H to the izzo says:
Khalid:I don’t think anyone said that.But a lot of people do seem to think that way.
Mar.31 at 5:47 pm
Co Co says:
If the white woman wasn’t in th picture it wouldn’t have rubbed people th wrong way Khalid. It would have just been another cover of an athlete screaming.
Mar.31 at 5:50 pm
Myles Brown says:
I dont see a beast when I see an aggressive black man, I see hundreds of years worth of imagery depicting black men as beasts. Big difference.
Mar.31 at 5:50 pm
Khalid Salaam says:
What about the stereotype of the woman playing the damsel in distres role? is anyone talking about that? wtf. I”m sick of this. people need to stop that cry wolf stuff. There are real racist things happening…
Mar.31 at 5:51 pm
Co Co says:
Khalid, I think we are all a bit surprised that you have a what’s the big deal attitude about this. So unlike you…
Mar.31 at 5:54 pm
Co Co says:
You don’t think this is a real racist thing? The fact tht Vogue hasn’t bothered to have but a handful of black people on their magazine is at the core of this as well. When they finally do decide to put one on there he’s playing the role of the angry aggressive black man. They couldn’t have put him in a suit?
Mar.31 at 5:55 pm
Captain America says:
Can’t believe the hubbub over old newz(?) It’s a freaking picture and a cover story, move along…
Mar.31 at 5:55 pm
Myles Brown says:
The damsel in distress perpetuates a gender role and a hackneyed stereotype, not a hateful and racist rhetoric.There are much bigger things going on and I really dont care about this, but Im not gonna act like I dont see “it” either.
Mar.31 at 5:56 pm
Eboy says:
King K, what was the confusion? (sorry I’m late on the hit back)
Mar.31 at 5:56 pm
H to the izzo says:
CoCo:Would you agree that the misogynistic message in the cover is worst than the racial stereotyping?
Mar.31 at 5:57 pm
Captain America says:
…clean-up on isle Common Sense.
Mar.31 at 5:58 pm
Eboy says:
Is it me or does Giselle seem like she is in a pose for a “Dancing With The Stars” photo shoot rather than fearful of the Bron’s fierce facial expression?
Mar.31 at 5:59 pm
Eboy says:
Was anyone more scared of J.R.’s mug shot than Lebrons gruff yell?
Mar.31 at 6:00 pm
H to the izzo says:
Time for some real news:50 Cent no longer supports Hilary!
Mar.31 at 6:01 pm
Khalid Salaam says:
Vogue doesn’t owe anybody a black guy on their cover. Its a white womans mag that celebrates affluence…why would they have a black guy on the cover? Seriously. And Myles i do see it, i even acknowledge it. But thats not my main concern. My concern is trying to raise power and influence in the sphere’s i can control and i care about. As a black man and as a human. I don’t normally involve myself with bs for bs sakes. Its not the wall st journal. its vogue. Wtf cares about vogue?…Im out. If you guys want i’ll explain more tomorrow.
Mar.31 at 6:02 pm
Myles Brown says:
I feel you.
Mar.31 at 6:03 pm
Eboy says:
Fu*k Vogue, support the King! (Khalid, not Lebron)
Mar.31 at 6:06 pm
Co Co says:
No Izzo I wouldn’t agree with that. I suppose its about the same.
Mar.31 at 6:10 pm
FLUXLAND says:
I have to agree with Co Co on the outfit choice. It is a fashion magazine after all. Why in the world is he wearing THAT?
Mar.31 at 6:11 pm
Co Co says:
And Khalid I wasn’t talking about a black guy, I was talking about blacks in general. There are affluent black women that they’ve not bothered with.
Mar.31 at 6:19 pm
TADOne says:
Everyone has made some good points on this, and I really think it has been somewhat overblown. I agree with Khalid and Ryan, in that I’m quite sure LeBron didn’t know about the photo, and I’m sure he wasn’t thinking about the photo being figured in a negative light. I do think that LeBron should feel some type of way about it though, other than the “ho hum, who cares” attitude he has shown so far. Even though he doesn’t feel he was in the wrong, he should at least acknowledge that he understands now why it would offend some people. On a side note, it is kind of ironic that another big time athlete, Tiger Woods, kind of blew off the “lynching” comment by the golf commentator and both he and LeBron share the same birthday. Hmmmmm……
Mar.31 at 6:24 pm
Myles Brown says:
A unabashed black consciousness has never been very marketable. Ask Craig Hodges.
Mar.31 at 6:24 pm
Co Co says:
Athletes today are afraid to take a stance on anything because of all the money they might lose. Gone are the days of athletes like Ali and Jim Brown who actually use their stature to influence something other than sales.
Mar.31 at 6:30 pm
Dell says:
Myles: Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf
Mar.31 at 6:33 pm
WhaHuh says:
There was another photo with LeBron and Gisele by the same photographer I’ll post the lonk after incase it gets moderated. She looks better and ha looks better without all the ‘beast’ undertones that are obviously on display. Lebron knew what he was doing, perhaps he didn’t know it would make cover but this is the 1st black guy on a cover- you cant take these risks
Mar.31 at 6:34 pm
WhaHuh says:
here is the other photo http://concreteloop.com/2008/03/comment-spotlight-lebron-the-vogue-cover
Mar.31 at 6:35 pm
WhaHuh says:
the link was moderated- search lebron and concreteloop in google to see it
Mar.31 at 6:53 pm
Russ Bengtson says:
LeBron and Tiger are just following the Jordan mold–offend no one, stack paper. I guess that’s cool if your whole goal in life is to get rich.
Mar.31 at 7:04 pm
albie1kenobi says:
i can understand why some people take the picture a certain way, but i honestly don’t see the controversy regarding the vogue cover, other than the fact that it’s just ugly to look at.
Mar.31 at 7:06 pm
TADOne says:
Ironically, I also share that birthday with Bron and Tiger, and i’m poor. Go figure.
Mar.31 at 7:13 pm
albie1kenobi says:
fantastic, TAD. i have the same birthday too. random things you find out about your slam fam.
Mar.31 at 7:20 pm
Eboy says:
TAD’s sad he doesn’t share a birthday with Chuck Daly.
Mar.31 at 7:34 pm
albie1kenobi says:
Eboy, which nba player (or coach)’s birthday do you share with? i’m sure if it’s with MJ you’d let us all know about it already.
Mar.31 at 7:46 pm
todddd says:
I FOUND JESSE D THE GREATEST STREETBALL PLAYER EVER http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1809320
Mar.31 at 10:38 pm
Eboy says:
albie, I don’t share a birthday with any player worth a ish since I was born under a bad sign, but my son share’s a birthday with Drazen Petrovic, so that’s kind of strong.
Apr.1 at 1:28 am
Jimmy G says:
Just gotta kick Dirk while hes down, again. Wonder what he thinks about the orgy?
Apr.1 at 6:15 am
hursty says:
haha jimmy.
Apr.1 at 6:15 am
hursty says:
fu(k it. 100
Apr.1 at 6:37 am
Andrew says:
Is Nike Unlimited = Nike Air Maestro? I looked up in Kicks vol. 1.
Apr.1 at 10:10 am
andy says:
happy birthday jesse dunn, wherever you are! maybe thats who james white was competing against in that dunk contest? he is imperceptible to all known electronic recording equipment after all…
Apr.1 at 10:54 am
maio says:
At least LeBron wasn’t in a nazi uniform screaming orders at her in German.
Apr.1 at 12:16 pm
riggs says:
while the unlimiteds were great, dude forgot about the flightposites and the actual greatest sneaker ever made, the foamposites.
Apr.1 at 12:23 pm
riggs says:
@ Co Co: i get what youre saying about young people not experiencing it but i was 13 years old the first time it happened to me (and im 24 now), and it was in deep alabama…man that ish was traumatizing.
Apr.1 at 12:27 pm
Co Co says:
I grew up in Alabama too, but it never happened to me. My brothers will tell you a different a story>
Apr.1 at 2:58 pm
ciolkstar says:
There’s no way the people at Vogue didnt realize what was going on. the dress Gisele wears is almost identical to the one in the famous image of King Kong and is not used in any other (more normal) shots. An alternate shot from the Vogue photoshoot is also online and they both look much better. It was just a tasteless move by Vogue. They were either trying to spark a controversy or just trying to be “edgy” in the most idiotic way possible.
Apr.1 at 3:08 pm
Jake says:
Ah J.R. he was one of my faves when he was back in Minny. I used to emulate everything thing he did on court…tried the dunks on my mini hoop when i was like 6. I wonder what he’s thinking now…..
Apr.1 at 3:34 pm
Allenp says:
I still have a pair of red, white and gray Huraches. I got them in college when they came back out. The black and baby blue ones were the hottest thing to ever hit my elementary school. If you had a pair of those, you were instantly cool…..I did not have a pair.
Apr.1 at 3:41 pm
Allenp says:
Dwil over at Sport on My Mind had an interesting take on the Lebron issue and some of the comments over there are straight. If you look at the old pic and the new pic it’s obvious what was going on. Hell, I saw the King Kong reference without even being aware of the old pic, but I’m sure that won’t surprise most folks.
Apr.1 at 3:42 pm
Gerard Himself says:
congrats Lang! This is your 666th “post”, or whatever you want to call it, on The Links.
Apr.1 at 3:48 pm
Allenp says:
I find Khalid’s responses interesting. Not so much his point of view on whether this is a big deal, but the idea that nobody cares about Vogue, and that it’s their business who they have on their cover. In the entire history of the magazine only 5 black people period have appeared on its cover. In all the years this magazine has been printed only five black people have been beautiful or popular enough to appear on the magazine cover? That was a startling fact to me. Now combine that fact with the historical picture that has been unearthed and the racist stereotypes rampant in society. Plus, add on the fact that Vogue probably had double the readership and influence of SLAM in their sphere of reference. It seems kind of crazy to say “who cares?” and “who reads Vogue?”