By being named Sports Illustrated’s Sportsman Of The Year, LeBron James just capped off one of the more impressive years in any of our recent memory banks. It’s an honor (and still a good measuring stick for the relevancy of Sports Illustrated) bestowed upon “the athlete or team whose performance that year most embodies the spirit of sportsmanship and achievement."
Last year Pat Summit and Coach K were recognized, and past winners have included everyone from Brett Favre to Arthur Ashe to Edwin Moses. For LeBron James to win this award says a lot about how much he accomplished in 2012. MVP, NBA ring and Olympic gold is about as strong a run as you can have for a pro athlete. Especially considering how much public outrage and all out hate that he endured over the last two years. The tide has obviously turned back in his favor, though to be fair, it never should have gotten as bad as it did anyway.
Khalid Salaam is the deputy editor of The Shadow League. Follow him @MrKhalidS.
