Some background: Plaxico Burress, for those who don’t know, is a wide receiver for the New York Jets. It’s Burress’ first year with the Jets following a stint in prison, which he received for shooting himself in the leg at a New York City nightclub. All-in-all, that incident has to go down as one of the most brilliant moves ever made by a professional athlete.
Anyway, last Sunday, when the Jets played the Buffalo Bills, Bills wide receiver Stevie Johnson imitated the Burress incident after he scored a touchdown, which actually led to Johnson receiving a $10,000 fine for his antics. The celebration in question:
Fast forward to a celebrity flag football game held by LeBron James, and the Burress celebration rears its head again, this time, courtesy of King James himself:
And now, as is normally the case when LeBron James does anything, reaction is blowing up. It started on ESPN’s First Take and has since moved to the Twitter masses, which has not one, but two trends devoted to the reaction of James’ Plaxic Burress/Stevie Johnson celebration. Oddly enough, very little of the reaction tookJames to task. Instead, most of the responses are aimed at Hugh Douglas and Skip Bayless, today’s hosts of First Take, and for their ability to “hate” on LeBron James:
@ItzTrizz617
Tristan ThomasSo pretty much according to Skip Bayless, @KingJames isnt allowed to leave the house until he wins a championship
50 minutes ago via web · powered by @socialditto
@DrunkUncleP
Prahjeckt Pat-tuhhhSkip Bayless esque Bron hate aside, he’s the best all around player in the league. But you’re foolish to trust him in clutch situations… 19 minutes ago via twicca · powered by @socialditto
@evancombs
Evan CombsWow, Hugh Douglas and Skip Bayless sound like idiots. so LeBron can’t play flag football because he’s not in the NFL? #dumb 48 minutes ago via TweetCaster for Android · powered by @socialditto
@bmoe_careful
Mark Zuckerberghahahahahahahahahahahaha hugh Douglas said Bron shouldn’t play flag football cuz he don’t have a ring… #NEWSFLASH you don’t either! lol 39 minutes ago via Echofon · powered by @socialditto
@hampsworld
HampHugh Douglas don’t feel good bout trending! We’re only talking about how dumb u looked talking bad about Bron playing flag FB. 29 minutes ago via Echofon · powered by @socialditto
@hampsworld
HampDear Hugh Douglas.. You don’t have a ring either dummy! Stop tryna get famous by hating on Lebron like @RealSkipBayless did! 35 minutes ago via Echofon · powered by @socialditto
@BThornberry23
Britton ThornberryHugh Douglas just came off as one salty mf…how hard you think @KingJames was laughin when he watched that 38 minutes ago via web · powered by @socialditto
It’s a weird world we live when LeBron James, one of the most criticized athletes of our time, is treated as a sympathetic figure because the people going after him are doing so in a buffoonish manner. To be honest, my expectation was one that saw LeBron being pilloried across the social Internet. To see the opposite happen, that is, people attacking his critics, is not normal behavior for the Internet crowd.