...3rd Person...

I read this about athletes speaking in 3rd person. I've heard Bosh, Wade & James do it in the last week, my initial gut reaction is that this whole situation is too big for any of them, so they disassociate with it, but that's amateur diagnosing at best.

The bottom line is I can't stand that reporters let athletes & celebs get away with this nonsense 3rd person type perspective. In my brain, when I read this clip from Dwyane Wade about the Celtics defense, I think Wade is 100% nuts:

"LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Kobe Bryant, guys like that understand what Boston's defense was about," Wade said.

Really, who talks like that besides people who are absolutely crazy. I can't think of anyone, actually. Well, athletes. All athletes. They have spent so much of their lives being ripped apart from reality by everyone that I almost can't blame them.

The thing that really kills me though is that Commissioners and those who are supposed to have the sport's best interests in mind don't realize how much of a divisive thing something like this is. I sometimes forget that the psychology involved in interactions, in marketing, in winning people over, is completely forgotten by those in power.

NBA rookies, and rookies in all sports, go through lots of training about how to stay away from Gold Diggers, and how they should wear condoms and not give their money their entourages - but it'd do them some good to give them humility training as well.

Stern condemned LeBron for his "Decision" TV show, but in a very passive manner. I think it'd do Stern good to recognize that "The Decision", speaking in 3rd person, and being not only financially but also emotionally unattached from those who pay your salary is going to be the ultimate downfall of professional sports, someday. But the point is that LeBron, I don't think, has ever been told to slow down, stop doing what you're doing, think about how you are perceived.

We need a Truth Czar in sports. Whether it be in sports reporting, or some kind of other realm. Athletes can earn as much money as we throw at them, but it has to come with a cost, and being accountable for what they say - speaking in 3rd person, for example, is a great start.

Wait a second, a new blog is born. SportsTruthCzar.blogspot.com. I'm starting it. Be ready, folks.

Anyway, this useless rant can be supported by an article I found on www.psychologyofsports.com, read it here: http://www.psychologyofsports.com/couch/couch020201.htm