Ok. Enough is enough. Four days since the NBA Finals and LeBron James is still a hot topic of discussion.

I can take the talk about him choking in the finals. Such talk is due, and it should continue until he does what it takes to shut people up. But all the talk about his postgame comments and his decision-making throughout the last year, now that is ridiculous.

There are two reasons I couldn’t care less about him telling his detractors to get back to their mundane lives following the Miami Heat’s elimination in game six:

First, he is an athlete. Unless his last name is Russell, Brown, Robinson, Aaron or Ashe, what he says really doesn’t matter. He’s not a politician, a teacher or a minister. His words don’t affect his actual job, so who cares?

Second, he is right. However he spins his comments, he is right. If he is telling his haters to get back to their sucky lives and quit worrying about his, then the comment is 10 months overdue. If he is saying that the season is over and we have to get back to reality, then he sounds like the smartest man in the sports world.

Either way, I’m with him.

As for his decision-making, I haven’t heard of any legal issues regarding James. I have not heard of him having kids sprawled out all over the country. He’s clearly a family man, and he apparently surrounds himself with a clean crowd.

If taking his talents to South Beach during a one-hour television special, which raised a couple million bucks for the Boys and Girls Club, is his worse decision, then I think he is about as good a role model as we are going to find.

Yea, he probably is arrogant. So was Jordan. So was Shaq. The difference is, James is honest.

From 1984 to 2002, Michael Jordan had a love affair with the media that left him as transparent as a brick wall.

From 1992 until about two weeks ago, Shaq basically played patty-cake with reporters.

And up until “The Decision,” which ESPN is ultimately responsible for, LeBron was the darling of mainstream sports media.

Now that he’s unafraid to be himself, the same people that crowned him King are calling for his head.

Personally, I’m overjoyed.

He joins a long list of ill-reputed and disrespected black athletes -- Jack Johnson, Jim Brown, Bill Russell, Muhammad Ali, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the Fab Five, Allen Iverson, Barry Bonds, and Serena Williams -- but at least he is in good company.

Still this doesn’t mean LeBron is off the hook. He did choke in the finals. But if we are going to throw hate, let us do so at the fact that his game still lacks some serious musts.

For instance, he is a scorer without a dependable jump shot; he is a point guard who insists on being a small forward.

The finals taught us that the man desperately needs to develop a jump shot while playing off the ball or become a 100 percent point guard.

Think about it. If he develops a shot, he’s Jordan on HGH. If he plays pass first, he’s Magic on HGH. Win-win.

Yet, as we dog him for lacking in these areas, let’s keep in mind that he’s still the most freakish athlete of his generation. His game will get better.

In the end, it is completely justifiable to bust LeBron’s chops regarding the ever-so-clear flaws in his game. But for the sake of good sports talk, can we end the discussion at the flaws in his game?

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Michael Gentry is a regular contributor to Qcitymetro.com. He writes most frequently about Charlotte's faith community, but he's also an avid sports fan.

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