Last night I sat in front of my TV and watched about 4 1/2 hours of the NBA Draft. While the first 15 picks were exciting to watch, I got a little bored once players with 18 syllables in their name started getting drafted from the Congo. However, I continued to watch.
Something that intrigued me even more than the actual picks was the interview with the players after they were drafted. After the top picks were drafted, they sat down with Stephen A. Smith of ESPN for a brief interview. Smith asked every draftee what they could immediately bring to the table for their new team.
While every player took the opportunity to brag on their own skills, every player also mentioned that they would immediately bring leadership to their new team.
This really made me stop and think. How in the world is an 18-22-year-old kid going to bring leadership to an NBA team that is full of adults. Most of these kids did not graduate college and many of them have only been out of high school for 1 year. Again, how were they going to bring leadership to a team of professionals?
Well, the honest answer is, they won’t. At least not right now. Leadership is not something that comes with a lottery pick, a multimillion dollar salary, or athletic ability. Leadership is influence which comes through respect. Do you think 30-year-old Shawn Marion of the Miami Heat is going to submit himself to the leadership of 19-year-old Michael Beasley from day one? Not a chance!
Unfortunately, the remarks of many of the young players tell a different story. For some reason, they expect to be crowned as leaders as soon as they walk in the locker room. That’s not quite how it happens. You wouldn’t expect a freshman football player to take control of the varsity team would you? These players aren’t any different.
I think our society holds the same thought. We expect to be thrust right into leadership without having to work for it. We don’t worry about serving our peers or earning their respect. We neglect the humility that comes with leadership and automatically assume we have earned the right.
Is anyone still curious why young professional athletes find themselves in so much trouble?
Tags: ESPN, Michael Beasley, NBA Draft, Stephen A. Smith
July 1st, 2008 at 11:25 pm
True…
But I would like to mention Lebron. He seems to have jumped right up and decided to lead a team.
July 2nd, 2008 at 7:07 am
I would agree. It took him about a year, but he took leadership of the team very quickly. Now if he would wise up and cut the New York talk for now all would be good and well!