Do athletes have an obligation to fans and make every attempt to play? I ask this question because;
The Cleveland Cavaliers are in Philadelphia tonight. A vast number of people bought tickets to see
LeBron James play. It's been announced that LeBron won't play because of a hurt toe, but yesterday
he was taping a show for Letterman, afterwards he was out late at a party in a suburb of Philly.

I understand an athlete may be hurt and shouldn't risk further injury by playing, but should he be gallivanting
about town the night before a game.They have personal lives and should be able to enjoy a night out but
do you think a multimillion dollar contract is a tradeoff to put on a show for all fans?

Athletes in all sports play the hurt card, especially in the All Star Game, and I think they have the obligation
to make every effort possible to play. After all, it is the fans that make it possible for them to earn millions
of dollars.

He might have had a commitment to do Letterman, and canceling the show because of a hurt toe is stupid.  How can that keep you from sitting in a chair and talking? 

Remember when you were a kid and you weren't really that sick, but you said you were anyway just to get out class.....and you spent the whole day watching TV and eating junk food?  Well, same principle here.

He might have had a commitment to do Letterman, and canceling the show because of a hurt toe is stupid.  How can that keep you from sitting in a chair and talking? 

Remember when you were a kid and you weren't really that sick, but you said you were anyway just to get out class.....and you spent the whole day watching TV and eating junk food?  Well, same principle here.


I am sure Letterman was a commitment, that is not really the issue. the issue is about a commitment to fans of a sport.
Some fans pick out specific games to attend to see the star players. As you know, tickets for professional venues are
not cheap. Someone saving money to see a player, then finding out he won't play, might be a Little upset, especially
after he finds out the guy was all over town the night before.

As for acting sick, I wasn't being paid millions of dollars to go to school and people weren't paying hundreds of
dollars to see me go.

I will say that if he has a valid reason for not playing, going out and partying doesn't mean he should be playing anyway.  It just means that instead of sitting at home doing nothing until he can play, he's out getting his party on.

I am sure Letterman was a commitment, that is not really the issue. the issue is about a commitment to fans of a sport.
Some fans pick out specific games to attend to see the star players. As you know, tickets for professional venues are
not cheap. Someone saving money to see a player, then finding out he won't play, might be a Little upset, especially
after he finds out the guy was all over town the night before.


It shouldn't matter, at least it wouldn't to me.  I'm a huge Yankee fan, most people know that.  If I was able to score tickets to see them play, and Mike Mussina.....my favorite pitcher, got hurt and wasn't pitching the game I'd be there to see.....would that mean my trip/tickets were a waste? Hell no!  I'm going to enjoy seeing my team play, regardless.

Now that's me, though.  I think those people should just enjoy the game regardless of whether the dude plays or not.  If all you're going there to see is one guy, what happens if he gets hurt during the game?  Are you just going to pick up and leave?

I will say that if he has a valid reason for not playing, going out and partying doesn't mean he should be playing anyway.  It just means that instead of sitting at home doing nothing until he can play, he's out getting his party on.


Agreed, and I don't know the extent of LeBron's injury, but what about borderline injuries? Is he helping his cause
by being out and about? Should his personal life supercede is professional life?

ps. You type to fast for me.  ;D

I think if he's just walking it off in a relatively stress-free environment while relaxing in the company of friends, it's different than if he were to say "I can't play tonight" and then is found playing streetball with some of his homies.

Plus, with the Cavs being on a recent losing streak and Lebron being the only Cav who seems to play hard every night, he probably doesn't want to take the chance of further aggravating the injury such that he can't play for much longer than just his night off.

The whole point of the thread is not just about LeBron James, I used him as an example. This scenario
can play out in any sport, with any athlete. As I stated in my first post, they do deserve a personal life.
My question was, do they owe the fan the benefit of seeing them play? This question also stems from
last season's fan appreciation night, Allen Iverson and Chris Webber both claimed injury. Not only didn't
they play, but both left the arena before the festivities even started. Do they owe the fan a little consideration?

In that case, they do, because it is at home and fan appreciation night.  Without fans, they wouldn't get the gobs of money thrown at them.  But if you're looking at an injured athlete who has to go on the road, that's totally different, because travel during injury cuts into their rehab time.

I am sure Letterman was a commitment, that is not really the issue. the issue is about a commitment to fans of a sport.
Some fans pick out specific games to attend to see the star players. As you know, tickets for professional venues are
not cheap. Someone saving money to see a player, then finding out he won't play, might be a Little upset, especially
after he finds out the guy was all over town the night before.

As for acting sick, I wasn't being paid millions of dollars to go to school and people weren't paying hundreds of
dollars to see me go.
I agree he probably had a commitment to Letteman but I don;t know if he should have been out partying. If you payed to see Lebron play and he wasn't playing than I say just enjoy the game anyway because after all you payed to see a game and the tickets aren;t refundable.

Just because a player isn't able to play doesn't mean he is unable to do other things.  Playing in a game is much more physical and stressful that an interview or sitting at a party, I am sure he wasn't slam dancing the night away.  The players have an obligation to do what he and the coaches think best, the fans pay for a ticket and deserve a good game, they do not get to call the shots.