When we consecrate someone as "King"--even if just metaphorically--he's likely to begin acting like royalty. Similarly, if we, figuratively, put him on a pedestal, we're literally making him higher than us. However unwittingly, we're actually inviting him to look down on us "common folk," and to view our needs and preferences as mattering far less than his own. It's hardly any wonder, then, that his behaviors may end up seeming self-centered, arrogant--and woefully lacking in empathy. Obviously, the above characterizations are meant to describe something essential about NBA demigod, LeBron James--and considerably prior to July 8th when he formally (and rather callously) announced his departure from the Cleveland Cavaliers to pursue future championships with the Miami Heat. If James has in fact demonstrated increasingly narcissistic proclivities since he began playing with the Cavs seven years ago, I believe it's because his many devotees, though unknowingly, have in so many ways encouraged him to do so. We may well complain--and certainly Cavalier fans en masse have complained--about the ruthless way James left (or, in their experience, "betrayed") the city that had for so long paid homage to him. And this loyal adulation prevailed even though he'd yet to bring a single championship to this most trophy-starved of big cities. But it's only to be expected that a young athlete, still maturing and in the process of defining himself, would likely succumb to the tremendous temptation of taking his self-aggrandizing cue from his countless adoring followers. I frankly see little to be admired or respected in the way James conducted himself as a free agent since the conclusion of the '09-'10 basketball season. But while I'd like to explore some of the psychological dynamics of James' behavior--which I think are best understood as narcissistic--I'd like also to focus on the external, non-basketball forces that so greatly influenced it. In many ways, I think it's only fair to see James as being as much a "powerless victim" in this whole scenario as the many fans who've felt so let down (if not heartbroken) by his decision to leave a place he'd told his enthusiasts would always be "home" to him (as Chicago was to Michael Jordan, or Los Angeles to Magic Johnson, or Boston to Larry Bird). In a sense, his entirely self-interested and "entitled" behavior was richly enabled by those same fans who now damn him as a monstrous traitor. And I think this point is vital to consider . . . and one I've yet to see adequately covered in the media. So, where did it all start? Read more: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog...7/lebron-james-the-making-narcissist-part-1-2
