Behind the Line

For most of his career...LeBron James has been the NBA's biggest asset. He's an international superstar. He once drew television ratings that came close to matching the Michael Jordan era of the 1990s. He was beloved by the majority of NBA fans.

However...slowly over the past decade...and especially over the last year...LeBron James has become the NBA's biggest villain. His relentless promotion of woke politics and social justice causes has turned off nearly half of the NBA's audience.

Television ratings for the NBA playoffs and NBA Finals last year were record lows...and the league is in danger of eclipsing those record lows this year. LeBron once again angered many people last week when he jumped to conclusions in a case involving a police officer in Columbus, Ohio.

We go back and look at LeBron's career the last 10 years...and how he slowly became more and more political. We examine how LeBron's commitment to political activism has impacted the NBA's ratings since 2012.

Does Adam Silver and the NBA have a solution to this problem? We explain how Adam Silver is part of the problem...and why the NBA is in rough shape due to the embracement of woke politics by their biggest superstar.

The Los Angeles Lakers received good news this week. After missing 30 games...Anthony Davis returned to the lineup Thursday night against the Dallas Mavericks. Although AD was understandably rusty in his return...it was good to see him back on the court.

However...Anthony Davis isn't enough to save the Lakers season. Though he is a top-5 player in terms of talent...Anthony Davis has proven he's incapable of leading a team to victory by himself. He's always needed help...he's a strong number two...but not a number one.

We explain why the Lakers are screwed if LeBron James isn't 100 percent healthy for the playoffs. The return of Anthony Davis is nice...but he's not enough to save the Lakers if LeBron remains sidelined.

LeBron James has once again proven the hypocrisy that's rampant in the woke community. We compare and analyze the two situations that happened this week with LeBron James and Brett Favre.

Favre made some comments on his podcast in regards to the Derek Chauvin verdict. Wokers everywhere were highly offended...including our favorite woker...Captain Woke Shannon Sharpe. We take Sharpe's comments about Brett Favre...and compare those to his reaction to LeBron James.

LeBron jumped the gun...and subtly threatened a cop's life after he saved an African American teenager. After serious backlash...LeBron deleted the tweet. We analyze LeBron's reason for deleting the tweet...and explain how he continues to ruin his legacy...while taking the NBA down with him.

It's always a bad idea for professional athletes or sports teams to get themselves involved in politics. Politics by design are meant to be divisive. When athletes and teams get themselves involved...they're in a lose/lose situation.

Mark Davis and the Las Vegas Raiders found that out the hard way on Tuesday. After the verdict was released in the Derek Chauvin trial...the Raiders sent out a simple tweet in support of the family of George Floyd.

Problem is...the wokers took offense to it. We analyze the tweet and the subsequent outrage...and explain why this is yet another example of why sports and politics don't mix. 

Last summer was catastrophic for the NBA. LeBron James led the league down the path of true wokeness...and ratings for the playoffs and NBA Finals were at record lows. Adam Silver announced in October that the league would return to a semblance of normalcy for the 2020-21 season...and the woke politics would be off the court.

Unfortunately for the NBA...it seems the American public isn't so quick to forgive them. After experiencing a spike in ratings during the first two weeks of the season...ratings for the NBA regular season are nearing record lows.

We explain why the NBA has lost half of its audience since 2012...and how Zion Williamson could be the only player that could save the league.

The New Orleans Pelicans lost another heartbreaking game Sunday afternoon against the New York Knicks. It was another instance where the Pelicans had a lead late in the game...and still found a way to lose.

Lonzo Ball was blamed by the media for the loss...and was even thrown under the bus by Stan Van Gundy. We explain how Lonzo was at fault...and had a bad game...but was not the reason the Pelicans lost to the Knicks.

We also identify what could be the real problem with the Pelicans...and how it could lead to the eventual departure of Zion Williamson.

For young quarterbacks in the NFL...the offseason entering year 4 is the most important of their career. In most cases...the fourth offseason is when it's determined whether or not they're considered to be a franchise quarterback.

Kevin Stefanski and the Cleveland Browns have reached that point with Baker Mayfield. At some point this offseason...Baker Mayfield is going to request a contract extension from the Cleveland Browns.

Will the Browns give him the extension? Is Baker Mayfield worth paying $150-$200 million over the next four or five years? Has he proven that he's capable of being a franchise quarterback? 

We answer all of those questions...and explain why it would be a major mistake for Kevin Stefanski and the Browns to rush into any decisions regarding the future with Baker Mayfield.

If you were born in the 90s or after...it's a real shame that you never got to experience the greatest era in the history of the NBA. The Michael Jordan era of the 90s propelled the NBA to heights the league had never seen before...or has seen since.

There was a specific mentality players of that generation shared that is missing in today's NBA. We explain that mentality...and how LeBron James is one of a few players in the modern NBA that compare to the players of the 90s.

We also tell you why Wednesday night was a major embarrassment for the NBA. Not just once...but twice...and how Adam Silver is doing nothing about it.

Although we're hard on Kevin Durant at times...today we're actually going to defend him. Earlier this week on Undisputed...Shannon Sharpe referenced an obviously fake quote from Kevin Durant to criticize him.

When Durant called him out on it...Shannon Sharpe did what women do best...he took his ball and went home. He eventually ended up blocking Kevin Durant on Twitter. We give you a complete breakdown of the scenario.

Then...we explain why Kevin Durant was right to defend himself publicly against Shannon Sharpe. We also give a reason why these millionaire athletes and sports media personalities are constantly looking foolish on social media.

Franchise quarterbacks in the NFL can sometimes be a catch-22. While having an elite quarterback almost guarantees making the playoffs every year...paying them maximum money can hinder the rest of the team.

The Green Bay Packers are facing this situation with Aaron Rodgers...and the relationship between he and the franchise is tense. Green Bay is claiming they can't improve the team in free agency because of Rodgers' contract.

We go over the options the Packers have...and explain why this could be a long season in Green Bay. Is 2021 Aaron Rodgers final year with the Packers?