Collegiate Times

The tyrannical king of high school basketball has been temporarily dethroned. With time running thin on his high school career, LeBron James will miss one of his last games ? a sad story to say the least.

Just because I am playing ?bad cop? does not mean I am ragging on James? game; I will be the first to agree with all of the hype and say that James is the real deal.

The society we live in goes crazy when a player with James? ability is given center stage on television. Ironically, the king?s tragic flaw in this fairytale is actually the American people.

I have no sympathy for James and the fact that he cannot finish his high school basketball career in normal fashion. In fact, I think it is unbelievable they are actually going to let him play in any more games while in his ?amateur? state.

James somehow found an attorney to remove the excommunication placed on him from basketball. Personally, I think he needed to shut up and bite the bullet.

A brand new Hummer (with which he hit an old woman?s car), the media attention, treatment from Michael Jordan?s personal trainer and tons of gifts are hard to deny. But, two cliches come to mind when the situation is put in perspective: ?Patience is a virtue? and ?Good things come to those who wait.?

Because James did not wait, he is paying for it ? all because of two throwback jerseys (Wes Unseld? Come on.) totaling $845. James broke a law that has existed since long before his stardom.

Did James not receive enough media attention for driving a Hummer around? I do not want to hear about how he was taken advantage of or that he was unaware of the rules.

James is entering a world where people are money hungry; he is going to be taken advantage of, and he will not be aware of the rules most of the time.

The talent James possesses dug a trench for him and eventually pushed him in it. He was surrounded by those who love him, friends who knew him before we did. But that all means much less now because he has been ?betrayed? by us.

Just because you did not give him two jerseys does not make you innocent. You are as guilty as the moronic shop owner. We watch him play on television, drooling over his dunks, counting down the days until the New York Knicks cheat the lottery to draft him.

Society as a whole being guilty has no bearing on our everyday lives, but it has ripped up James? for now. The things he has to look forward to are the shoe deals, TV spots and of course, the insane contracts for filling the stands.

?If I knew it was going to make me ineligible, I would bring the jerseys back,? he said.

Well, guess what LeBron? If Wynona Ryder knew ?researching an acting role? would land her in jail, I am sure she would be back at that department store in a New York minute.

It is a shame that everyone can capitalize off of James? skill now except for James himself. But these are the facts of life, the laws, the rules.

James turned his back for one minute and those that did not care about him took over the show ? for now.

In a few short months, King James will soon reign again. Until then, he has a serious amount of thinking to do while he is somewhat out of the limelight. At the end of this high school tragedy, James will climb into his Hummer and drive to the prom, so do not lose any sleep over this. What you should be losing sleep over is that he will most likely drive to that prom with a state championship ring on his finger.

Bottom line: he broke the law, he should not be allowed to play any more basketball.

If he was ?taken advantage? of in high school, he has some harsh truths ahead of him. Forty-one games on the road without his mother or a coach or friends that love him are going to be tougher than St. Vincent-St. Mary was.