to get dunked on...

AKRON, Ohio -- You want to see video of Xavier's Jordan Crawford dunking on LeBron James?

If so, too bad.

Because you're not going to see it.

Thanks to Nike.

Turns out, there were at least two cameras rolling Monday night when Crawford dunked on James during a pick-up game here at the LeBron James Skills Academy. It was a two-handed jam, the kind that would've circulated quickly on YouTube. But Nike officials eliminated that possibility shortly after the dunk happened by allegedly confiscating tapes from various cameramen.

Freelance photographer Ryan Miller was one of the cameramen shooting the game.

He told CBSSports.com that Nike Basketball Senior Director Lynn Merritt took his tape.

"He just said, 'We have to take your tape,'" Miller said. "They took it from other guys, too."

Worth noting is that there is no policy against filming at the LeBron James Skills Academy, and Miller said he had been filming all day without incident. Nobody ever told him to stop. Nobody ever said there was a problem ... until after Crawford dunked on James.

"LeBron called Lynn over and told him something," Miller said. "That's how I knew his name was Lynn. LeBron said, 'Hey, Lynn. Come here.'"

Minutes later, Miller said Merritt demanded his tape.

"There's nothing I can think of besides LeBron just not wanting it online," Miller said. "It's a good story to tell people, I guess. But then again, I'm kind of pissed. I lost my tape."

For Lebron to not want it shown online. He must have been dunked on HARD. I don't see how its that serious. Everybody gets dunked on. He must have t-bagged him or made him fall or something embarrassing.

LeBron gets dunked on by Xavier player, confiscates all video

By Chris Chase

It was assumed he was called "King James" because he reigns on the basketball court. But maybe LeBron James earned that nickname due to his tyrannical ways (in dealing with embarrassment).

On Monday, Jordan Crawford, a sophomore at Xavier (by way of Indiana), reportedly dunked on LeBron during a pick-up game at the LeBron James Skills Academy. Garry Parrish of CBSSports.com wrote that one high school player said, "it was bad". (We can only assume he meant "bad" in the Michael Jackson sort of way.)

LeBron must have agreed, because he had Nike officials confiscate the two videos that were taken of the dunk. (Parrish blames Nike, but reading between the lines it seems like the censorship was orchestrated by LeBron himself.)

Ryan Miller, a freelance photographer who was working at the camp that day, told CBSSports.com:

"LeBron called [Nike Basketball Senior Director Lynn Merritt] over and told him something," Miller said. "That's how I knew his name was Lynn. LeBron said, 'Hey, Lynn. Come here.'"

A few minutes later, Miller's tape was confiscated.

Connecting the dots, it seems clear that LeBron didn't want video leaking out of him getting dunked on by a college sophomore, so he told a Nike official to get the tape. It was an understandable reflex move (gotta protect the image), but it also unnecessarily makes a mountain out of a molehill.

The Crawford dunk would have been a temporary embarrassment for LeBron. Let's say the video was put on YouTube. It blows up for a bit, dominates blogs for 36 hours, everyone has a good chuckle and then it's forgotten about.

But by censoring the tape, LeBron turns the dunk into a legend. On video, it's just a dunk. Without video, the jam can reach mythic proportions. Because nobody can see it, the story of the dunk will grow in stature with each telling. Today, it was a simple two-handed slam. In a few days, it will be a 360-degree windmill. By the time Crawford makes his Xavier debut in October, he will have jumped off LeBron's shoulders, flipped in the air, slammed the ball home with his left pinkie and then handed LeBron $3.99 for his dry cleaning.

Without the video, we'll never know. Although, given his past history, I think it's safe to say that LeBron probably walked off the court without shaking Crawford's hand.

Lebron is sounding more like A-Rod by the minute

I don't want that crybaby spoiled brat in our house!!!!

Bosh is too soft

Amare is a head case

Wade is injury prone and egomaniac

Nobody is good enough for me.

Hand down, man down.

Is it just me or does this tarnish his image more so than getting posterized?

Posted by OasisBU:

Lebron is sounding more like A-Rod by the minute

Maybe it's contageous.

Posted by Allanfan20:

Posted by SupremeCommander:

Is it just me or does this tarnish his image more so than getting posterized?

That's what I'm criticizing him and Nike for. If he got dunked on and just joked around about it afterward then I probably would have thought he was being cool. He's just being a baby with a huge ego though right now.

Exactly. He should have walked it off or gave the kid props. I could image when Jordan Crawford dunked on him. Those 80 kids must have gone crazy. I guess Lebron did not care if the word got out as long as he was not on video. Props to Jordan Crawford for smashing one on Lebron. lol

This reminds me of when Shaq got dunked on

h

Posted by kam77:

I hope someone with a cell phone was recording it.

I'm sure Lebron's camp already told youtube and other video outlets to not upload any clip with him getting dunked on.