Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters-Chapter 435 - 290 True Friends, But

Chapter 435: Chapter 290 True Friends, But

For the first half of December, the main focus of the NBA had been on New York and Indiana. The former attracted attention due to the chaotic team atmosphere and a continuous stream of dramatic incidents, while the latter struggled with Ron Artest’s unpredictable behavior.

But no one had expected that news outside of the basketball court could also momentarily ruin a young star’s life.

On December 15, 37-year-old Gloria James was arrested for reckless driving, speeding, driving under the influence, disorderly conduct, and damaging police car equipment.

The news drew nationwide attention because Gloria was none other than LeBron James’s mother.

According to the description of the officers at the scene, Gloria wasn’t friendly toward the law enforcement. She “screamed, yelled, and threw a tantrum like a maniac, swearing profusely.”

With his mother in trouble, James, as the NBA’s young generation’s king of attention, naturally received additional scrutiny.

In response to the incident, James exhibited his usual composure.

“I don’t yet know what happened,” LeBron said before an away game against the Pacers, “Once I get a clear understanding and sit down with my family to discuss it, you know, I’ll be able to comment better on the situation.”

If there were no further complications, then it was just another minor trouble caused by Gloria off the court.

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As her son, James could forgive all of her mistakes.

But as it happened, Frye was the well-known Prohibition Ambassador of the NBA.

Ever since Fei became the D.C. Prohibition Ambassador, reporters asked him about this role after every game.

And Fei never tired of emphasizing that this was a noble mission bestowed upon him by D.C., and that as a public figure, it was necessary to demonstrate his sense of social responsibility.

The comparison between Fei and James had become a common topic in the NBA, but those in Fei’s camp detested this comparison, believing James didn’t yet have the credentials to be compared to Fei.

This incident gave Fei’s supporters one more reason to believe that Big Fei had clearly surpassed LeBron.

Single-parent families have their pros and cons.

Big Fei’s mother was a successful businesswoman, and besides that identity, nothing else was known about her to the outside world; she hadn’t caused any negative news to embarrass Big Fei.

But Gloria… Of course, she wasn’t terrible, especially compared to the mothers of Wade, Jim Butler, and other notorious bad mothers in the NBA. She was absolutely a good woman, a source of pride for LeBron, but as a person from the grassroots, she had some habits and occasionally caused trouble, and in this regard, she fell short.

The public couldn’t help but question whether James was all talk and no action, because his mother kept causing him trouble, yet he had no ability to restrain her.

A minor incident, under the push of certain forces, became a major one.

It was just such an incident thought to seriously impact James’s brand image, yet it was speculated by some reporters with deficient intelligence that it might have been James himself stirring the waters behind the scenes, given his new generation of Nike signature basketball shoes were about to launch.

James, stressed out by this unwarranted trouble, and his entourage grew agitated, seeing potential attackers of LeBron in everyone they encountered.

“If Frye hadn’t taken on that ambassador role, this wouldn’t have blown up so big!” LeBron’s assistant, Randy Mims, complained indignantly after James again faced probing questions from reporters over his mother’s drunk driving.

Yet it was clearly unreasonable to blame Big Fei for this.

Fei had become the ambassador during Thanksgiving, how could he have known that James’s mother would drive under the influence?

“Enough,” James said, frustrated, “I don’t want to hear this!”

Richie Paul asked, “Did Frye call you after the incident happened?”

“He called me right away,” James replied, “and expressed his regret.”

Paul asked, “And then? Didn’t he do something about it?”

“He doesn’t know what to do,” James answered, “He also wants to know what he can do.”

Paul mockingly laughed, “So, he can offer nothing but verbal comfort?”

The words were harsh, but it was the truth.

Fei couldn’t, while serving as the Prohibition Ambassador, also publicly stand with the family of a DUI offender by saying, “I stand with you.”

“You know, he is the Prohibition Ambassador, he can’t publicly support my mom,” James said, “I understand his position.”

For those in James’s camp, led by Paul, their core was James himself; they would do everything in their power to defend the reputation, image, and status of this man.

As the tentacles of James for outward interaction, they had felt the arrogance and conceit of Fei’s camp in all aspects.

In the eyes of those around Fei, comparing James to Fei was an insult.

Paul was certain, the uproar over this incident was significantly fueled by Reebok and Fei’s newly established “B-B-F” company behind the scenes.

Otherwise, the incident wouldn’t have become a national issue.

Moreover, Paul could see that despite LeBron voicing his understanding and nonchalance, he was definitely bearing some resentment internally.

Frye kept saying that LeBron was his little brother, but in this matter, he didn’t stand up for LeBron like a big brother should have.

Concerned about the Prohibition Ambassador’s image and his reputation? These were all valid reasons, but was Frye really someone who cared about image and reputation?

Did Frye care about his image and reputation when he threatened management while advocating for notorious thugs like Latrell Sprewell, who choked fans?

Did he show even a hint of social responsibility when he repeatedly declined Team USA invites for his own gain?

Some things are clear-cut in principle, but nobody is perfect and no situation is without flaws. If you’re willing to look, there’s always an angle to exploit.

On the journey

The Bucks not only had an aging home arena, but their charter plane was also noticeably deteriorating, jolting non-stop on the way to Texas, giving everyone the feeling that they were about to crash.

Many people threw up.

Yu Fei, uncharacteristically, sat opposite Kwame Brown, with Ariza and Sprewell by his side.

The turbulence made Brown question whether he would live to see 23.

“Damn it! Damn it! I shouldn’t have come to Milwaukee!” Brown screamed, “Why do we have to fly on such a crappy plane!!”

“Shut up, deal the cards!” Fei shot him a glance, “I’m here to play cards, dammit!”

Eventually, the plane landed safely at the airport.

Outside the airport, a group of journalists who had received the news had arrived early.

“Frye, how do you comment on Gloria James’s drunk driving incident?”

“What is your stance on this matter?”

“As a Prohibition Ambassador, shouldn’t you strongly oppose such behavior? Why haven’t you made any statement regarding this?”

Fei laughed, “You know, I’m the Prohibition Ambassador for D.C., you should ask the Prohibition Ambassador from Cleveland about this.”

That night, Fei scored 30 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists against the Houston Rockets, which if you ignore the decimal, reflects Fei’s current average stats.

His comprehensive performance overshadowed McGrady, who was clearly affected by congenital spinal issues.

With McGrady underperforming and Yao out with an injury, the Bucks secured a ten-game winning streak by defeating the Rockets, which brought them to the top record in the league.

Fei naturally ranked first in the latest MVP simulation predictions for averaging a triple-double and leading the team to the best record in the league.

Even so, the media was more concerned about Fei’s attitude towards James’s mother’s DUI.

Fei made no direct comment, simply using ambiguous words to sidestep the issue itself.

When a journalist familiar with Fei tried to get close and asked for his genuine opinion on the matter,

Fei’s face showed neither joy nor sorrow, only speaking in a bland tone, “Jerry, I said I don’t want to talk about this.”

The journalist’s heart tightened upon hearing this, Fei’s way of dealing with the media was very much like Jordan’s.

Usually amiable, but as soon as it came to issues he didn’t like, he typically gave reporters three questions’ worth of patience.

If a journalist still wanted an answer after three questions, they would never get another interview opportunity from Fei/Jordan again.

Although Fei had yet to show any clear displeasure, the journalist didn’t want to risk their rapport and so, asked no further.

Backstage, the people around Fei were thoroughly annoyed.

“Why do you have to bear the trouble Gloria causes?” Lawson complained, “It makes no sense!”

Lin Kaiwen on the side said, “I heard that LeBron’s camp is quite upset with Frye.”

“Upset?” Lawson almost laughed in anger, “What right do they have to be upset?”

Lin Kaiwen smiled, “They think Frye doesn’t support LeBron enough in this matter.”

Lawson looked at Fei, chuckling, “Big Fei, what do you say?”

“I’m not a person who cares about reputation,” Fei said. “But this is something my mom organized, and I can’t let her lose face, you get me?”

Lawson thought to himself, reputation mattered, after all.

Especially for someone like Fei who had been promoted by Reebok as a global brand, his personal reputation should be of great importance.

“LeBron wouldn’t consider these things,” Lawson said. “They only care if you can stand with him on this matter.”

Fei responded with silence.

Lin Kaiwen suddenly remembered something from before he officially joined Fei’s team.

When Fei initially refused to join Larry Brown’s Dream Team, he faced significant criticism. At the time, Fei was still in college. Although not privy to the details, Kaiwen clearly remembered LeBron offering to join the Dream Team and compete in Athens during the summer when Fei was being criticized by the public.

Was LeBron standing with Fei back then?

No, not only did he not support Fei, he went out of his way to announce in an interview his decision to join the national team, thereby showing that his sense of national honor was stronger than Fei’s.

Now, he actually expects Fei to openly support him over a DUI incident caused by his mother, regardless of Fei’s own image as an endorser of sobriety?

“Fulai,” Lin Kaiwen said, “real friends wouldn’t make you stick your neck out in situations like these.”

Fei didn’t consider it a big issue, but those around him and the Reebok executives thought it was a good opportunity.

A minor incident was slowly blown out of proportion, growing more intense by the minute.

Unable to discern the authenticity of these news sources, Fei only knew this—he and LeBron both did not want the situation to affect their relationship.

That’s why they were both restrained in their public statements.

However, some things are uncontrollable.

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