LeBron James on God & Timing

After losing the NBA championship to the Dallas Mavericks, LeBron James had this to say on Twitter.

"The Greater Man upstairs knows when it's my time," James tweeted. "Right now isn't my time."

This joins the many sports quotes attributing losses or victories in some way to God, rather than to things that are just a bit more concrete. Maybe LeBron hasn't considered that it was his time, but he just blew it. His apparent malaise in the fourth quarter throughout most of the series, his invisibility in game 4, and the Heat's inability to hold a lead late in most of the games might have had a bit more to do with their loss than whether or not God thought it was time for for LeBron James to win a championship.

I know I'm picking on LeBron, but I was just reading post-game coverage and happened to notice his tweet. There were the usual interviews after the game with Mavericks players thanking God, as if an imaginary being chooses sides in sports contests. Then again, maybe he hates the Miami Heat too, like most people who aren't Heat fans.

A Good Time For Some Police Brutality

I've written a number of posts criticizing excessive use of force by police, particularly regarding the major overuse of tasers. But there are certain times when the police need to use more force. One of those situations occurred the other night after the Lakers won the NBA championship.

Violence erupted within 30 minutes of the game's end as rowdy fans poured out of area bars...As police in riot gear approached, the crowd hurled unopened cans of energy drinks at them. Several men stomped on an SUV parked on the street, breaking its windows...a scrum of several hundred people...surrounded a city bus filled with passengers and attempted to yank the driver out through a window. A cabbie fled when his taxi was set upon by another mob that kicked in the windshield and set it ablaze. ...other storefronts had windows smashed. At least eight people, one of them beaten unconscious, were taken to area hospitals.

A violent mob is a danger to anyone and anything near it. There is simply no excuse for any of that behavior, and in my opinion it should be met with massive, overwhelming police force. Positively-identified violent rioters should be beaten into submission, preferably with blows designed to break bones and do permanent damage. Rather than worry about making arrests, police should be permitted to break up riots as quickly as possible by crippling the ringleaders. They can be arrested later while recovering in the hospital. Anyone throwing a firebomb, or aggressively wielding any other sort of lethal weapon should be shot dead on the spot.

In my opinion, rioters who think a sports victory is a good excuse to attack people & destroy private property are worthless pieces of human garbage, and should be treated as such. Please note that I am not criticizing the police response in LA. It appears they did a decent job. But if there's ever a time when actions normally labelled as police brutality are justified, a riot is such an event.