Tips About Tips: LeBron Not Such a Jerk After All?

So LeBron James might not be such a bad tipper, or such a jerk, after all. About a month ago we linked to this Deadspin post that discussed this Cleveland Scene item that reported that LeBron left a $10 tip on an $800 bill at Cleveland’s XO Steakhouse after eating and drinking there with a group of folks until approximately 4AM.

Last week we came across this letter to the editor by Davey Houston of Lakewood on Page 5 of the June 4-10 issue of Cleveland Scene, in response to the Scene piece about the alleged incident. Houston’s letter reads, in part: "You’re taking LeBron to task for a misunderstanding. Didn’t anyone see the report on Channel 19 that said the b*tchy little crybaby server looked at the bill wrong and was actually left a very generous tip?”

No. No we did not see the report on Channel 19. Nor can we find any evidence of this report on the Channel 19 Action News website, or anywhere else. Has anyone out there seen this report? This is important. A quick Google search of “LeBron bad tipper” reveals a number of published items about this alleged incident, none friendly to The Chosen One. LeBron has taken a lot of heat for this, and -- as much fun as it is for us to believe that anyone richer or more famous than we are must be moral failures with rotting souls -- if Mr. Houston’s letter is accurate, the good name of King James should be restored.

We’re inclined to believe Mr. Houston. Foremost, LeBron is surely savvy enough to know the damaging effect that such an action would have on his image. And we’re sure that he eats out a lot. If he’s such a bad tipper, why haven’t we heard a story like this before? The “black people don’t tip” explanation offered by many in comments on the various posts about this story doesn’t pass the smell test either. Could Mr. Houston be making this up about a Channel 19 story as part of a crusade against “b*tchy crybaby servers” everywhere? Not likely. And maybe someone at Cleveland Scene saw the Channel 19 report, which is why they published Houston’s letter in the first place.

Moreover, a statement by one of LeBron’s representatives to the New York Post's Page Six corroborates Houston’s account. James’ rep said that “[t]here was a misreading of the receipt, and the appropriate tip was provided.” As evidence of the hit that LeBron’s image has taken from this story, this quote was spun in the New York Post item, snarkily titled “Needs Glasses,” to mean that it was LeBron who misread the receipt. This still makes LeBron look like a jerk, because, of course, who could misread a receipt that badly? But the more likely story, consistent with Houston’s letter, is that the server misread the receipt, and James’ rep’s statement meant that “the appropriate tip was provided” in the first place. If this is, in fact, the case, it was a reserved statement by LeBron’s rep, and a classy move not to call out the server in retribution for the damaging non-story.

Under normal circumstances, one letter to the editor referring to a news report that we can’t find much evidence of (yet) wouldn’t be a very big deal. But there wasn’t much behind this story in the first place. It was based on an anonymous tip, yet it proliferated quickly and widely, with damaging effect to LeBron. We have emails and calls in to Channel 19’s sports and news directors, and will follow up if/when we hear from them. In the meantime, please share any info you might have on this in the comments, or via email.

Update 6/9/08, 1:12PM: We just received an email from Ryan Minnaugh of the Channel 19 Sports Department who confirmed that a story about LeBron's XO tip did run on 19 Action News, and was able to forward an excerpt from what he called "the copy from the story that ran on Channel 19 Action News." The excerpt reads as follows: "BUT JUST THIS AFTERNOON, THE RESTAURANT MANAGER RELEASED A STATEMENT. HE'S CALLING THE WHOLE THING A "MISUNDERSTANDING". SAYING, THE WAITER MUST HAVE SEEN THE WRONG TIP AMOUNT ON THE RECEIPT. LEBRON REPORTEDLY SENT AN EVEN BIGGER TIP, TO CLEAR THE WHOLE THING UP."

We realize that this could be a case of XO's management protecting the reputation of a good customer, but we don't think that this explanation is any more credible than the story that's been accepted and spread throughout the internet -- that the image conscious and media-savvy LeBron would be such a jerk by leaving such an insulting tip. We're going to give him the benefit of the doubt here.

Update 6/10/08, 6:55AM: Thanks to commenter Zak who posted a link to this piece from TMZ.com which contains a more complete statement from XO Steakhouse management about the tipping incident:

“For the record, XO would like to clear up a misunderstanding resulting from a story that appeared in the Cleveland Scene on May 7th...Upon completion of his meal, Mr. James paid his bill with a credit card. Our waiter mistakenly read the receipt, inferring that Mr. James had left him only a $10 tip. To clear up the misunderstanding, Mr. James arranged for an appropriate tip to be delivered to the restaurant for the waiter.”

This statement should not have been so hard to find among the dozens of items bashing LeBron on this story (“LeBron sucks at tipping,” “How LeBron Stays Rich: By Stiffing Restaurant Employees on Tips,” “Bad Tipper: LeBron James tips 1.25% on $800 Tab”). Folks have asked how this post proves anything about LeBron’s tipping habits. The point is that it proves that he tips well (or at least not $10 on $800 bad) at least as much as the widely proliferated Scene story proves that he doesn’t. Thanks to Davey Houston of Lakewood, Ryan Minnaugh and Fox 19 Action News, Deadspin, TMZ, and commenter Zak for helping to get the other side of the story out there.

Ducks, Pigeons, LeBron’s Bad Back, Cliff “Apesh*t” Lee, Secret Weapons, and Jazz Hands Take 3: Luck the Fakers

The Cavs/Celtics series is over. It should be obvious to anyone who has watched a healthy LeBron James play basketball that LeBron James is not healthy. LeBron has been silent about his back problems throughout the Playoffs. And why shouldn’t he be? It doesn’t help him or the Cavs to publicize his injury. For those who are skeptical that this injury exists, we will direct your attention to what we think is the most significant piece of reporting on LeBron James that has been published in recent years. This item was published in Sports Illustrated’s 2006-2007 NBA Preview as a "Behind Enemy Lines" quote from an anonymous scout. Anonymous scout had this remarkable bit to say about LeBron:

“What amazes me most about LeBron James? The way he runs. Have you noticed that his toes turn out? Most good athletes are pigeon-toed; Michael Jordan is. I've never seen a guy with a duck walk run as fast as LeBron does.”

Anonymous scout is right. Look around for yourself. And you don’t need to look at the pros to see this. Look at your pals who are better than you at sports. Odds are that their toes tend toward pigeon rather than duck. Now look at the schlubbiest joe you know. Or a random schlub on the sidewalk. Big belly? Slouched shoulders? Humped back? Before you look down at his feet, we’ll bet you dollars to donuts that he’s duck-toed.

The reason for this, as any good yoga teacher will tell you, is that a gait that tends toward pigeon-toed-ness (toes pointing in) is indicative of proper alignment of the spine. The spine is the source of our limbs, and thus the source of our means to move. The spine is often “the first thing to go,” and when it does, pain and immobility follow. The same pain and immobility that is obviously plaguing LeBron James right now.

If you’re still skeptical, try the following experiment: Step 1): Stand up like you would normally stand, paying no attention to the alignment of your feet. Then plug the three points of each of your feet into the ground from the balls of your feet, your fifth metatarsal (the bone that sticks out of the outer sides of each foot), and your inner heel-bone. Once your feet are “plugged in,” straighten your legs as much as you can by pulling up on your quadriceps muscles, completely ironing out the backs of your knees while trying to send your upper inner thigh muscles straight back into the wall behind you. Do all of this without arching your lower back; i.e., try to keep your tailbone tucked underneath your body so that your pelvis remains perpendicular to the ground. Note carefully the effects of these movements on your lower back. These effects might be subtle and hard to notice at first, but if you pay careful attention, you will be able to tune in. Step 2): Repeat the above steps with your toes pointed further outward than they would be in your normal stance. You should feel your back tighten up, at least a little bit. Step 3): Now repeat the above steps with your feet aligned so that the outer edges of your foot are parallel. This will keep your toes pointed inward. You will feel a release in your lower back. Your lower back will be more mobile with your feet and legs in this position.

The above experiment shows that a duck-toed gait creates pressure on the lower back. Compound that pressure by years of running up and down a hardwood floor, and LeBron’s back problems should be no surprise to anyone. Fortunately for LeBron, and basketball fans everywhere, there is a cure for this problem. Yoga. We’ve said before that it never ceases to amaze us that athletes, pro or amateur, pay so much attention to their musculature and cardiovascular health, lifting weights and running while they do untold damage to their bones, joints, and ligaments -- the underlying structure that holds their musculature together. Yoga was invented thousands of years ago so that monks could sit up straight to meditate for longer periods of time. Every yoga “asana,” or pose, was invented so as to use the arms and legs (the “organs of action”) to create space and mobility in the spine. Unfortunately, the rapid development of western medicine has left yoga in the lurch. Another problem is that yoga has been commoditized and bastardized by certain hippies, preachers, and hucksters in such a way that its real benefits have been obscured from many. This is a shame because everyone could benefit from understanding these poses and how they help to keep us and our spines healthy without fancy medicine or painful and expensive physical therapy regimens. Some professional athletes have picked up on this, as have millions of Americans who have seen through the commoditization of yoga, and used it to untold benefit to their health and well being. We hope that LeBron can do the same during this off-season. We recommend Iyengar yoga as an uncommoditized/unbastardized school of yoga that is authentic and scientific in its approach.

As a reminder of how much can be accomplished in one off-season, now is as good a time as any to send out a hearty Cleveland Frowns shout to Cleveland’s own Cliff “Apesh*t” Lee, whose performance this season thus far has been nothing short of apesh*t. Last season, you might remember, Lee, a successful member of the Indians rotation for the better part of four major league seasons, simply could not get batters out. He was demoted to the minor leagues, and was left off of the Indians’ playoff roster. After an obviously productive off-season, he is pitching head and shoulders above every pitcher in baseball right now. 6 starts, 6 wins, 44.7 innings, 39 strikeouts, 2 (TWO!) walks, a 0.81 ERA, and a 0.60 WHIP. Apesh*t. Maybe LeBron can get some tips from Cliff on what to do during the offseason. It wouldn’t surprise us if Cliff learned some yoga in his downtime. He might not want to tell us because he might want it to be his secret weapon. With all the people out there who would like to have Cliff’s job, we can hardly blame him. There aren’t enough people as good at basketball to take LeBron’s job, even if they had this secret weapon, so LeBron wouldn’t have to keep it a secret.

A final note on the subject of the value of a good off-season, or at least the value of taking some periodic rest, we notice that our picks suffer when we don’t get enough rest ourselves. We’re afraid that we’ve stepped in a big pile of dung last weekend with our pick of the Jazz to beat the Lakers in the Western Conference semis. We believe in efficient markets, and the money involved in the Lakers being in the NBA Finals goes a long way in explaining how these whistles have blown in the first two games. We still think Utah is a better team than the Lakers. But they’re up against an insurmountable opponent. Nevertheless, we think that the David Stern Illuminati will call off the dogs tonight in Utah, and let them play tonight. Mr. Stern knows that a five game series never hurt anyone. We’ll go to the well for one last try with the Jazz Hands to get one in front of the home crowd tonight, after which we’ll expect Stern and the whistles to finish the job for the Lakers the rest of the way. The pick: Utah -4 against the Lakers. We’ll be back tomorrow to discuss the impending Celtics sweep.

Dorothy Rabinowitz Does Good Work

Take it away, Dor.

"Unprecedented opprobrium." Very nice. More highlights:

"Mr. Obama's apparent inability to confront, forthrightly, the pastor's poisonous pronouncements and his own relationship with him is, of course, the cause of all the continuing questions on the subject. It had not been in him, for instance, to say publicly that for a pastor to have preached that the U.S. government had embarked on a project to inject blacks with AIDS was an outrage on truth and decency.

These issues – the unanswered, the suspect – which outraged press partisans have for days attempted to dismiss as trivia and gossip, largely forgotten by the public, are unlikely to be forgotten, either today or in the general election, nor are they trivial. This, Messrs. Gibson and Stephanopoulos clearly understood when they chose their questions. Mr. Obama's answers told far more than he or his managers wished.

Offered a chance to explain the meaning of his remarks about the reasons people living in small towns cling to guns and religion, he went on to repeat them all over again in different words. What there was in those remarks, what attitudes shown, that had offended people, he had still not grasped. In short, what he had said that day he'd meant to say. "What you are, picks its way," as Walt Whitman told us."

Happy to discuss in the comments...

Faloomp! Like wow.

Loyal Cleveland Frowns reader John F. passed on this Plain Dealer piece on this morning's street collapse at Public Square, which, thankfully, resulted in no injuries to persons. I agree with John F. that the use of quotes in the piece makes for some hard hitting reporting. I've pasted the whole thing below so that you can see for yourself.

Key intersection at Public Square caves in
Posted by Brian Albrecht & Donna J. Miller March 06, 2008 08:44AM
Categories: Breaking News

"A water line break downtown caused the intersection of Ontario and Superior avenues to collapse about 7:45 this morning.

Jackie Johnson, 57, was watching water crews try to locate a shut-off valve when the pavement went "faloomp," she said. "Like wow."

Police have closed much of Public Square. Ontario is closed between Euclid and St. Clair avenues. The crater could have swallowed up to a dozen cars, an observer said.

Linda Hayes stepped out of an RTA bus near the Justice Center and shook her head at the hole. "Girl, I saw a movie like this. It's amazing. Unbelievable." Businesses on the square still have water service.

Tri-C Metro students were sent home and the campus closed at 10 a.m. because of the water main break.

The campus lacks running water, and once service is restored, the lines will have to be flushed of contaminants, a spokeswoman said."

Hard hitting indeed, but things really get good in the comments.

Wait for it...

Wait for it...

Wait for it...

"This is what happens when George Bush gives tax breaks to the rich. They move their businesses overseas then our water lines break and our streets collapse.
I think this is a huge conspiracy. All that construction that was happening at Public Square the past year was just a front to place an explosive device to go off so the water lines would burst and the streets would collapse. Then all the businesses would move out of the buildings on Public Square so they can move to China so they can get the tax breaks George Bush gives them." --Posted by thekrenz09 on 03/06/08 at 9:51AM

YES! You can't accuse us Clevelanders of not paying attention to the political process. thekrenz09 has lifted a page right out of the Obama/Hillary Economics playbook. Well done, Sir! To be fair, this guy might well have been kidding. And he takes a beating from the rest of the commenters, one of whom has a good idea:

"I think it's kinda scenic. Maybe we can build a barrier around it and use it as the new fountain on public square. Then, we can flood and freeze the area where the old fountain is and use it for ice skating, just like Rockefeller Center in NYC..." Posted by UDFlyer on 03/06/08 at 11:23AM

westparkdude blames the Clemens investigation:

"This is a perfect example of why we need to invest more of our hard earned tax dollars on infrastructure and not steroid investigations. Be glad it wasn't the innerbelt bridge." Posted by westparkdude on 03/06/08 at 10:11AM

Moonshady mounts a vigorous defense, and ends with a bang:

". . . I guess it's our fault for establishing such a great city a long time ago and we are old now, shame on us." Posted by Moonshady on 03/06/08 at 10:30AM

bbk11 disagrees:

"This city is a joke. The only thing it has going for it is our sports teams. What else is there to do around here(?)" Posted by bbk11 on 03/06/08 at 9:58AM

The blogs, bbk! You're forgetting about the blogs!