Posted by bistiza on 6/20/2013 8:46:00 AM (view original):
On your interpretation of karma, LeBron should suffer a career-ending injury because he left his team by announcing it on a TV show and because he didn't play well enough during a playoff game.
This is not my interpretation of "karma". As I said, the simplest "karma" is "you get what you give".
Because of who he is and how famous he is, LeBron has the ability to have an enormous impact on great numbers of people - like it or not, that's the way it is. In his case, he had a tremendous NEGATIVE impact on a great number of people associated with the Cavaliers organization, including many fans.
The cumulative effect of all that negativity LeBron caused coming back on him through "karma" in a "you get what you give" fashion would naturally be quite devastating to him, and I suggested it might have come in the form of a career-ending injury. I still think that's a fair assessment of how it would work if "karma" were real. "Karma" is BS, but my point is very real.
Since you decided earlier to address what fact and opinion is, I'll point out to you that "quitting" would be an opinion.
So it's my opinion that LeBron quit on his team, and that opinion is shared by many other people. That changes nothing with regard to what I've said.
And yet he had an exceptionally positive impact on all sorts of other people, including kids involved with the Boys & Girls Club, all of his charity - money and time - that he gives back (which he wouldn't be able to do without basketball), and all of the Miami fans who now root for him.
Even if take Lebron using your worst-case scenario: he was terribly disloyal to a bunch of people who truly love basketball - a game to them and a career for Lebron - he had an exceptionally positive impact on all sorts of other people. No one was injured from Lebron leaving Cleveland; no one's life was ruined. The worst result: people were angry at him. That part Lebron and part caring too much about sports (which is Lebron's burden, but not his fault).
So for all the kids he helped and positive impact he had, you think karmic balance dictates his livelihood being stripped (something that didn't happen to anyone when he left Cleveland), charities suffering from Lebron having less money to donate, and Miami fans who have had a positive impact should be stripped of any of their positivity even though they had nothing to do with what happened.
Perhaps it's hyperbole, but that is...wait for it...insane.