Posted by Sabrina B. @gametimegirl

During one of two lengthy interviews, Delonte West discussed how his reputationand market value as a player have been affected by comedians, rappers and media poking fun at his personal life.  Check out what he had to say about the rumors that he smashed LeBron’s mom…

To put it in the proper context, here is the passage from the story:

There’s an elephant in the room _ the Internet rumor _ that the reporter has no intention of broaching because it was never remotely substantiated. It, too, became part of comedy routines.

“It’s affected me,” West says. “Everywhere I go, first question, ‘Don’t tell me you did that.’ ”

“That” would be the rumor that during the 2010 playoffs, West had a sexual encounter with Cleveland Cavaliers teammate LeBron James’ mother, Gloria.

West says he wants to permanently squash the rumor not just for his sake, but mostly for James and his mother, who West says expressed nothing but kindness during his three seasons in Cleveland.

In fact, West says Gloria James reminded him of his single mother, Delphina Addison, who raised Delonte and his siblings to be “happy-poor, just enjoy life and the blessings that God has given us.

“If we want to continue to grow as a human race, what are we teaching our kids if we try to make humor and fun out of stuff like that?” West says of the rumor. “Number one, something like that never happened. I don’t know where they got that from.

“For a strong black woman like that, for people to try to tear her down, that’s terrible. That’s terrible in so many ways.”

WRITTEN BY  Brad Townsend / Reporter [email protected] | Bio

& FULL STORY HERE