Essentialism 101, Courtesy Jemele Hill: "The birthing process gives any mother the right to overreact, no matter how ridiculous."

So, here's the scene. Monday, one night removed from Mother's Day, Paul Pierce gives the hard foul to save a break-away dunk by Lebron. The two go barreling into the stands. Lebron's Mom isn't happy, she wants her pound of flesh from Pierce.

The Gatorade Kid, Kevin Garnett, tries to calm Ms. James down. He seems to have little success. She is pissed, that was her baby just got roughed up.

LeBron and Pierce emerge from the scrum. LeBron turns to her and says--You Can See His Lips Very Clearly, "Mom, sit your ass down!"

Meanwhile Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, Ernie Johnson laugh it up.

You gotta see this, it's not even 1:00 minute long.



But check this shit out. Jemele Hill's article, published yesterday, tears LeBron up for cussing at his Momma.

The titular quote Harrogate provided above is pretty juicy. Here's another:

But even with so much on the line, and his manhood teetering because his mother was rushing to his rescue, LeBron should have maintained his composure.

Harrogate's thoughts? Well, first of all it was a helluva lot more interesting than most of what Harrogate has been watching during these playoffs. But more seriously, what we had here was a classic breach of the Imaginary Line between public and private. Maybe that is how he and his mother talk to one another in private all the time, but when it comes out in this particular Rhetorical Situation, people don't recognize what they are seeing. It is, to say the least, different.

And also, anyone who played sports as a child and even through high school, or even attended games in any capacity, is familiar with the spectacle of the Mother rushing to the defense of her beleaugred son who has just been roughed up. We've all seen it. And for his mother, he's still doing the same thing he has been doing for years and years--engaged in what is, in its essence, a kid's enterprise.

But now he's a man; more, he's a Commodity. Property of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Property of the NBA and of all the shoe and soft drink labels. And so, he has apologized on the Mike and Mike Show.