LeBron defends not shaking hands with Magic

LeBron defends not shaking hands with Magic

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CHICAGO -- LeBron James remains unrepentant for refusing to shake hands with theOrlando Magic after they ousted his Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference finals.

The reigning NBA MVP made that abundantly clear on Tuesday afternoon, while he was in town promoting his upcoming movie, "More Than a Game."

When asked by a reporter if he regretted not shaking hands since it gave him his first "black eye" in the court of public opinion, James said: "I still haven't had a black eye, for one. Two, I don't regret anything that I do. The only thing I apologize for that night is not doing the media [session, after the game].

"The media, your ... job don't start until ours' finish. You guys can't report and write you guys' story until we take a shower, until we come out and sit on the podium. That's the only thing I apologize for. As far as shaking hands, it's something that is not done in the NBA. If it was something like tennis, after tennis, you play, you win, you lose, you go to the center and shake hands, it happens every game in tennis."

James is convinced the reason the story drew so much attention over the past few months was due to the fact he blew off the obligatory media session after the Game 6 loss in Orlando.

"In basketball, you look at 82 regular-season games, it's easy, guys are gonna shake hands, the fact that [I didn't] do the media [session], I think that's why [the story] was all blown up, and I apologize for that, but I will not apologize for shaking nobody's hand," he said. "You never accept losing, ever."

When the reporter reminded James that most players usually shake hands at the end of a playoff series, James bristled again. "No you don't, no you don't," he responded.

After a few more seconds of back and forth, James continued to try to explain his position. "Teamwork has nothing to do with shaking hands," James said. "I'm not a poor sport at all. You can ask anyone that knows me, I'm not a poor sport at all. Who brought up the rule that shaking hands, that's what you're supposed to do? No one shakes hands at the end of series all the time. No one does that. No one does that at all."

Way to kiss the a$$ of the media...still doesn't change the fact that you acted like a selfish whinning crybaby...learn from the mistakes of those that came before you...think before you speak idiot.