LeBron James Gives Old-School Players Another Reason To Beef With Him

Michael Cooper, who played with the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1980s and 1990s, was critical of LeBron James eating on the sideline during a recent preseason game

LeBron James is perhaps the most scrutinized player in NBA history, maybe in all of sports. 

Whenever James does something remotely "wrong," he is often criticized. He draws the most ire from fans an former players who say he's too soft to play in yesterday's NBA. 

Los Angeles Lakers great Michael Cooper was the latest to take aim at James. 

For what? 

Eating on the sideline during a preseason game. 

It happened last Friday when the Lakers played the Golden State Warriors. After playing the first half, James sat the second on the bench in street clothes. He was then caught on camera having a snack. 

Cooper took offense. 

“I didn’t like it,” Cooper said on The Showtime Podcast. “I didn’t like that. Again, he’s LeBron James, but still, you got to have respect for the game man, man. He’s sitting over there. I don’t mind the guy eating, but go eat in the locker room, and then when you come out and be part of the team, not just sit at the end of the bench eating.”

It was a typical "back-in-my-day" response by Cooper. It just seems players from the 1980s and fans will always think they played in a different and better era. 

So LeBron eating on the sideline just gives them more ammunition. You can already hear them now, "Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant wouldn't have done that." 

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Shandel Richardson is the Publisher of Back In The Day NBA. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com

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