Was Jason Whitlock Actually Right For Once?? (No)

In a shocking turn of events, Jason Whitlock, a fedora-wearing refried bean of a human, was wrong again. I caution even commenting on his opinions, as I’m not totally sure that he’s not an oversized sock puppet being controlled by Jeff Dunham, but I felt that he was particularly wrong this time.

Whitlock was extremely critical of LeBron’s new show, The Shop, and said that it tarnished his legacy. Here’s the clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2QbKpIeM3s (Haha, just kidding I would never give that guy views). To summarize, LeBron cussed a lot on the show and Whitlock didn’t like it and therefore said he respected Kobe Bryant (after the sexual assault) more.

Let’s make one thing clear: The Shop was amazing. I didn’t know how badly I needed LeBron saying bad words in my life, but now I’m going to be disappointed anytime he doesn’t use profanity. This was one of the first times we’ve ever gotten an inside look at how LeBron interacts with his friends in a relaxed setting, a time where he can be a “normal” person. They even talk in the episode about how LeBron has asserted himself and is unapologetically himself now, so Whitlock is missing the point here entirely – LeBron is feeling less pressure to be America’s favorite son and is in turn able to be LeBron. There’s a ton of beauty in that, and we’ve seen what good can happen when LeBron is able to be himself – I don’t think a grown man cussing takes anything away from that.

A lot of the episode (and the premise of the whole show) was a reminder that these famous athletes and celebrities are humans. They have their insecurities, they have things that make them tick, and they aren’t always immune to the spotlight that’s on them – and that should be embraced not scorned. I saw a lot of people mad that OBJ made the comment that he feels like a zoo animal when he’s in public and I couldn’t believe it. He never said that he has any problem with fame, that he doesn’t want to show love to his fans, or anything of the like. Instead, I think his comments should serve as a reminder that he’s a human, and when fans see these people in public, they should remember that. Asking a guy to dance on command or demanding a picture with someone isn’t a normal way to interact with another human, and I was glad that OBJ spoke out about it.

The casting of this episode was absolutely awesome – just when I thought nothing could be whiter than Jerrod Carmichael’s teeth, they threw Jon Stewart into a room of rappers and NBA players. For starters, I’m not sure I’ve ever been more jealous of anyone than I was of Stewart getting to do this show. He absolutely crushed it. I’m not sure to what extent LeBron and Jon Stewart had a relationship prior to this (I think we can all guess, though), but Stewart seemed to make LeBron feel so comfortable and got him to say things I wasn’t expecting at all. It was brilliant. My only complaint is that the way it was edited, guys like Vince Staples and Michael Bennett, who certainly have a lot to say, were barely featured.

I know I’m gushing over this show, but it was really awesome. Much like Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, I love that it’s a chance to see people used to performing acting with their guard down. I find the human aspect more interesting than the performance, so this show is tailor-made for me, much like how Jason Whitlock’s fedoras are tailor-made for his refried bean head.