It is funny that a story centered around the word “respect” could come off as so disrespectful and condescending.
I know by now all you guys heard about ESPN ranking Kobe 40th in this years edition of the NBA player rankings. Whether you love or hate Kobe, the rank caused a huge uproar across all of social media. Kobe replied by calling them “idiots” when asked about his spot on the list, and that should of been the end of that. But someone at ESPN felt the need to keep it going and write a story about respect, while seemingly disrespecting one of the greatest players ever.

@IamJoeSports

If ESPN feels they are allowed to create an imaginary player ranking list that means nothing outside of their own meeting rooms, then players like Kobe have the right to feel or say whatever they want in regards to the list. It’s simple, if you can’t take negative feedback, don’t try and dish it out.

ESPN could of let the topic go and move along to more important news, but Royce Webb and the people at True Hoop, affiliated with the network, just had to get the last word after Kobe called them idiots.

They responded with an article claiming they may of “overrated” Kobe to being with!

Ok so now you want to be salty cause of what Kobe said and want to try and backtrack and say even 40 was too high?

They proceeded to write an entire article around “respect” but it seems the author doesn’t know what that word means. Now let’s be clear, the fact ESPN ranked Kobe 40th is not disrespectful. They are entitled to their opinion and if that’s where they see him that is fine, despite how crazy it sounds to others. In turn however, Kobe is allowed to feel however he wants, as well as say whatever he wants. The writers at ESPN took it personal, hence the new story.

It’s time to take “respect” out of the NBA vocabulary, and Kobe Bryant proves it.

Look at what is happening with the announcement that Kobe finished 40th in this year’s #NBArank. The same thing happened a year ago when we predicted Kobe to be the 25th-best player in 2013-14. The reaction both years was easy to predict, and it was ugly. Many fans were outraged, even ESPN folks were apoplectic, and Kobe himself mocked us, saying anyone who thinks he’s 25th “needs drug testing.”

The most common reaction was that we were crazy. OK, hard to refute that one.

The second-most common reaction was that we had disrespected the Mamba.

And that reaction was just plain incorrect. In fact, our problem was that we overrated Kobe tremendously, out of “respect.”

But “respect” is one of the most useless concepts in the NBA when it comes to player evaluation. If we had treated Kobe like any other player, we would’ve said he was no longer a top-25 player, or even close to that.

Let’s be blunt: Kobe Bean Bryant was one of the very worst players in the NBA last season — a $30 million disaster. He was closer to the 425th-best player than the 25th-best player.

So why did we rank him as high as 25th? Out of respect. Too much respect, really.

In the NBA, “respect” is often a code word. It means different things to different folks, but when it comes to evaluating players, it often means that we agree to lie. We don’t like the truth, so we lie and call it “respect.”

Is this a polite impulse? It can be. We respect our elders, and in the NBA, we respect our veterans, even boorish guys like Kobe.

But if “respect” becomes a weapon to shut people up, what’s that about? If “respect” is a word used to bully people, that’s not real respect.

Why did Kobe get a $48.5 million extension from the Lakers before he proved he could play after the Achilles injury? Why didn’t they just cut him using the amnesty clause, given that he’s probably done as a winning player?

Because the team believed it couldn’t afford to “disrespect” Kobe. They knew he could make life difficult for them by appealing to his fans and supporters around the league. They knew he could bully them into “respect.”

You know, we shouldn’t be forced to “respect” Kobe any more than he earns our respect. We can respect his career, sure, if we want to reminisce about the good ol’ days.

But respect is earned, and the current version of Kobe is not much of an NBA player.

The fact that they ended the story saying the current version of Kobe is not much of an NBA player just immediately takes any credibility away from these guys. They let their emotions get involved in the follow up story and that is a big no-no if you want to claim to be a professional.

The entire story basically did nothing but disrespect Kobe and take shots at him, not too mention being very choosey about what to include or ignore for their story.

They will still beg him for interviews down the line and I hope he reads this story and remembers it.