The Real Athlete Blog

Category: Human Relations

LeBron James' "What Should I Do?" Nike Commercial

by Dr. Timothy Thompson 11-03-2010 01:06 AM Public Relations | Athlete Career Development | Human Relations | Image Branding | Sports Business | Sports Psychology

9053 Views

I see nothing wrong with this message from LeBron James, especially since he appears to be answering the critics whose perspective was championed by Charles Barkley. I strongly disagree with what Barkley and his supporters were saying about the future implications of LeBron’s team selection, and I believe Charles’ reasoning was historically irrational and misguided. Essentially, Charles said LeBron should have chosen to stay with the Cavaliers primarily because that would’ve allowed him to be the undisputed leader rather than just a super cog. Furthermore, Charles argued that by not staying in Cleveland, LeBron was somehow dishonoring the cultural status of NBA basketball by rejecting the notion of competing with superstars like D-Wade for the top NBA dog spot. According to Charles, this was the true effect of LeBron joining a team that already featured another player of roughly equal star status. Never mind that Charles, who never won an NBA championship, was thinking about his own ego needs, and wasn’t really speaking from first-hand knowledge of what makes LeBron tick.

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Wrong Place, Wrong Time? Not an Option for Second-Chance Athletes

by Wesley Mallette 07-04-2010 05:50 PM Public Relations | Crisis Management | Human Relations

7076 Views

Mistakes will happen, but as a high-profile, second-chance athlete, you will only get so many opportunities.

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An Icon Lost

by Jeremy Hartman 06-07-2010 11:40 PM Athlete Career Development | Human Relations

16063 Views

John Wooden - Not just a basketball icon

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The Family Life of an Overseas Professional Basketball Player, Part I

by Susan Zaro 02-12-2010 08:24 PM Family Life | Human Relations

27802 Views

Sports Psychology Consultant Susan Zaro interviews Mikaela Samuel, the fiancée of pro ball player John Gilchrist, about her life and experiences when John travels abroad to play professionally.

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Lesson Learned?

by Alan Stein 02-08-2010 01:07 AM Human Relations | Sports Psychology

2243 Views

This is a spontaneous follow-up to my last post, “Losing Sucks.” Why a follow up? Because this past Saturday night we were very lucky to escape with a 4-point overtime win against Kecoughtan High School from Hampton, VA.

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SPORTS, LIFE AND BUSINESS: And Why the New Orleans Saints Matter

by Wesley Mallette 02-04-2010 11:36 PM Philanthropy | Human Relations

5000 Views

The lessons learned through sport give us perspective and teach us how to handle adversity.

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A Time to be Thankful

by Jason Krump 11-11-2009 12:26 AM Human Relations | Special Event

4359 Views

The month of November has two Thanksgiving days. One is the recognized day on the fourth Thursday of November. And the other? Veterans Day, Nov. 11.

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Understanding Social and Traditional Media – LJ, OchoCinco, and Bob Griese

by Wesley Mallette 11-02-2009 03:30 PM Social Media | Crisis Management | Human Relations | Image Branding

3795 Views

Why Traditional and Social Media Training in Sports is Crucial – Larry Johnson, OchoCinco and Bob Griese – What Went Wrong and What Went Right

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Lessons from Sports

by Allison Collinger 11-02-2009 02:09 PM Human Relations

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Some surprising lessons from some of the greatest...

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A Tribute to My Sports Hero

by Jason Krump 10-31-2009 04:49 PM Human Relations

6465 Views

Throughout his remarkable career, Walter Payton compiled statistics that provided evidence of just how complete a football player he was. I am reminded of his greatness on the 10th anniversary of the death of this sports icon, and my sports hero.

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