LeBron Says Tom Brady Can't be the GOAT Athlete for the Dumbest Reason Ever
LeBron James, Draymond Green, Maverick Carter and some other big names debate the greatness Tom Brady. pic.twitter.com/eVM3JdN6uB
— Def Pen Hoops (@DefPenHoops) June 9, 2017
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“My only argument with a football player being the greatest athlete of all time is that they only gotta play one side of the floor. Yes, Brady is unbelievable. Brady is the greatest quarterback I’ve ever seen, but he affects the game one way. And that basketball is one of the several sports in which all athletes are forced to play offense and defense. For us, every single night, you gotta know both sides. We both played football. The offense never even talked to the defense – all week. We don’t even speak to y’all. It’s two different teams. Actually, it’s three different teams – special teams. When I played football, offensively, I never even talked to the defensive side. I never even talked to y’all. Ain’t nothing to talk about.'”
– LeBron James
It’ll come as no surprise that as soon as I heard LeBron was talking shit about Tom Brady, I immediately ordered phasers to be locked in, set to maximum, fire on my command.
That is, until I actually heard him. In truth, as LeBron assholery goes, this isn’t even in his Top 50 of 2017. At least he has no problem admitting Brady is the best quarterback he’s ever seen. If he was some Manning closet case or tried to make an argument for Aaron Rodgers or somebody, I’d be diverting all impulse powers through the phaser batteries and firing at will right now. But I’m way more triggered by the fact he walked into the Garden past the ESPN camera while reading The Godfather than I am at this.
But that doesn’t mean he’s not full of shit. Because he is. Even if he does respect Brady, he argues that no football player can be considered a great athlete because they only play one way? As in none? Not Jim Brown. Jerry Rice. Lawrence Taylor. Pat McAfee. Ed Reed. Like in LeBron’s world, to even be in the conversation, you’d have to be one of those guys from the two-way era like Lou Groza or Chuck Bednarik. Or to take his logic one step further, Troy Brown would be better than Rice because he also filled in at defensive back.
Never mind that he’s showing a monumental, Philistine pig-ignorance of how hard the quarterback position is – the hundreds of calculations that have to be made in pre-snap, the split-second decisions that come after the snap, being able to see the whole field and read disguised coverages all while some 270 lb feral maniac is trying to kill you from behind – he’s missing one enormous point.
The competition level is higher in football because everyone else on the field is playing one way as well.
Who’s harder to compete against, someone who does a lot of things or a specialist? In any field of endeavor? Ted Williams was the best hitter who ever lived because he didn’t give two shits about playing left field or being a good father. In a singing competition, give me the one who only sings over the one who sings, writes and plays 20 instruments any time. The actress who wins the AVN for Best Anal Scene is always an anal professional, not just someone who only occasionally dabbles in butthole pleasures.
Tom Brady – hell, any football player – has it that much harder because they’re facing someone who’s also a one-way player. They’re facing the best of the best on every down. And for QBs it’s even harder now than it’s ever been because he’s facing full time slot corners, edge rush specialists and situational 3rd down interior rushers. To somehow suggests that that disqualifies him from ever being considered the GOAT athlete because LeBron has to walk 90 feet up court and guard somebody (who also spends half his time guarding LeBron), is just stupid. Again, not extremely stupid by LeBron’s standards. But stupid nevertheless.
Quarterback is by far the hardest position to play in all of sports and it’s not even close. I’d be embarrassed for LeBron if I was capable of feeling embarrassed for LeBron.