Twenty-five-year-old Lebron James told the waiting world that he had found "the process humbling." (The process of having six billionaire owners fawn all over him, practically begging James to accept their offers of better than a hundred million dollars to play basketball for them; followed by an hour-long television broadcast to announce The Decision.) He repeated the "humbling" phrase to ABC's Robin Roberts and presumably other interviews as well. Earlier this year, Lebron said he was "humbled" to become only the second player in NBA history to receive two MVP awards at the age of 25.
It brings to mind President Obama telling us he was "humbled" to be given the Nobel Peace Prize less than a year into his presidency. When saying things like that, Obama has a way of jutting his jaw forward and up in body language that says anything but humility.
So what is this "new humility"? It seems to be the de rigueur words to mouth when someone young and relatively inexperienced ascends to the rare air of a splendid summit few will ever reach. It's anything but humbling.
Lebron James is an incredible player who has behaved admirably throughout his career. I hope to see him win a championship or two. But that won't be a humbling experience either.
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