LeBron James — young phenom with the Cleveland Cavaliers that was the MVP of the league this year — has been punished and chastised by the New York Times and other publications. After the loss to the Orlando Magic last week in the 6th game of the playoffs, LeBron, in defeat and disappointment, didn’t stay around to hug the Orlando Magic players and to kibitz and socialize with them. People have taken great offense at that and said how rude it was for LeBron to do that.

I want to speak up in defense of LeBron James. First of all, this young man has done everything right from the time he goes out of high school straight to the NBA. He’s been a phenom. He’s been a bigger-than-life figure. He’s taken the Cleveland Cavaliers, put them on his back for the last 4 or 5 years, made them playoff teams and this year the best record in the NBA.

He does whatever is necessary to help his team win. He’s a warrior. He plays relentlessly on defense. He hits 3-point shots. He hits buzzer-beating shots. He goes to the basket. Nobody can stop him. He gives everything he has on the floor. And yet we’re seeing him being criticized for being disappointed in defeat. And we think, because he was disappointed in defeat and didn’t’ stay around to kibitz with the opponents, that he was disrespectful. I’ll submit to you he was not disrespectful. He was respectful.

Back in the day when I played football and my generation of players back in the 60’s and 70’s, nobody hung around after the game whether it be a championship game, a Super Bowl game, a playoff or a regular season game. When the game was over, you ran off the field. If you wanted to visit with your opponents, you could do that after you got dressed and showered. Nobody stayed around. And in the case of LeBron, these playoffs, if you watched them the last week, were the most competitive hard played playoffs that I’ve ever seen. The Lakers against the Nuggets. The Cavaliers against the Magic. They were physical up and down the court, and these players are doing this in the month of June — their season started way back in October. These people are warriors. Basketball is a tougher sport to play in professionally than baseball or football because they play so many games, their season lasts so long and they have to be in unbelievable shape. And the modern era of basketball is the best that we’ve ever seen, and these playoffs are the best, the hardest played, the roughest and the toughest that I’ve ever seen.

And when that game was over, LeBron James was spent. He gave everything he could for the entire year for the entire playoffs in this series to help his team win. He didn’t disrespect Orlando. He walked off the court in exhaustion and disappointment. He left and didn’t give an interview to the reporters after the game. Can you imagine the disappointment that this man had in his life after you worked so hard for 9 or 10 months and all of a sudden it’s over — it’s done? You’ve reached the semi-finals of the playoffs and all of a sudden it’s over. You don’t play tomorrow. You don’t play for the NBA championship. The disappointment is beyond our collective beliefs.

He was reacting as a warrior. not in disrespect to Dwight Howard and his Orland Magic teammates. It was all about the disappointment of losing something that he wanted very bad — a probable feeling of what could I have done better? Could I have made the extra pass? Could I have made another drive? Could I have made the defensive stops to help my team win because that’s the type of warrior he is.

This young man is to be a role model to be respected. He is the present, and he’s the future of the NBA. And thank God we have young men with his character and his leadership that can be great role models for others that come along. Bravo, LeBron James.