Email Yvonne at: yvonne@kisswtlz.com
ESPN on Thursday permanently killed an unflattering LeBron James profile it had previously published, and blamed the reporter for “not properly identifying himself” while researching the piece.
The article, by ESPNLosAngeles.com columnist Arash Markazi, depicted James as someone who “relishes being the center of attention” as handlers infantilize the 25-year-old.
“The more you hang around James, the more you realize he’s still a child wrapped in a 6-foot-8, 250-pound frame,” Markazi wrote in the story, posted at 9:40am ET Wednesday. It was pulled shortly thereafter.
One day later, with the story generating attention it may never have earned if it had been left alone, ESPN was forced to explain its decision.
“We looked into the situation thoroughly and found that Arash did not properly identify himself as a reporter or clearly state his intentions to write a story,” ESPN editor-in-chief Rob King said in a statement. “ESPN.com will not be posting this story in any form.”
That means it will be difficult -- though far from impossible -- for fans to read about James flirting with Las Vegas cocktail waitresses in clubs surrounded by naked women covered in rose petals.
Though constantly surrounded by an entourage of security, family and longtime friends, he was disappointed when a club offered him a male waiter, according to the article.
“I wish they’d have one of those girls with no panties do that instead of the guy,” he said as a waiter delivered another bottle of vodka.
Even fellow basketball players seemed shocked at James’ behavior.
In one nightclub, Boston Celtics forward Glen Davis walked past James’ group and surveyed the area “like a painting in a museum, soaking in the images of the go-go dancers…and the costumed man delivering bottles of champagne.”
Davis shook his head, and moved on.
Markazi, the author, accepted the decision in a statement released by his employer.
“I stand by the accuracy of the story in its entirety, but should have been clearer in representing my intent to write about the events I observed,” he said.
It was not be the first time ESPN flirted with James-related controversy. Its own internal watchdog blasted the sports network for what he said were ethical missteps in its recent broadcast of a program devoted to the star’s signing with the Miami Heat.
Today BlackEnterprise.com will give birth to the newest member in our family of franchises: The Family Biz blog. Every Monday afternoon, check in here for tips and advice on issues related to working with family. We will cover everything from succession planning and divorce, to hiring and firing family. If you already own a business with family and employ several relatives you probably know the challenges that surface from time to time--as well as the victories. Augustus McMillan, managing director at McMillan Consulting, took a moment out of running his seven-year-old family business to talk about the etiquette of working with family. Here are his five tips to making working relationships comfortable for family employees, non-family employees, and clients:
Be honest about family. Do not keep it a secret when your relatives are also your employees. “I've had a few clients that hid the fact that they have family members working for them,” says McMillan, who hired an aunt, a sister, and a cousin. “When it eventually comes out--and it will--the raise or promotion will make the [non-family] co-workers feel like they didn’t have a chance and that you were being deceitful.”
It's OK to talk to your family like they’re family. Don’t act differently toward your family just because you are at work. “My mom isn’t an employee but our businesses share many clients and projects. I call her mom when we're working. I will never be comfortable calling my mother anything other than mom,” says McMillan, who encourages employees and clients to address each other informally so that everyone feels like family.
Don’t give family members special treatment. Don’t reward or punish someone because of their familial relationship with you. If others get disciplined for bad behavior, your family member must be disciplined also. But do treat any employee, including family, special if they deserve it.
Don’t disclose company secrets to family outside of the office. Baltimore, MD-based McMillan Consulting is a business and tax consultant company that deals with confidential information. Employees, whether family or not, should not tell others in the family client info or proprietary secrets. “In today's connected world you never know who knows who,” says McMillan. “If a client finds out that their info was discussed … it can cause you to lose projects and reputation.”
Don’t work your family members when they should be off the clock. “It’s OK to ask a question about a project or client when you're at a cookout that will take a minute to answer,” says McMillan. “If it turns into a five minute conversation, then that’s OK. But it shouldn’t go beyond that unless your family member is the one who wants to talk about
The Internal Revenue Service filed documents with the L.A. County Recorder's Office yesterday, which show Tucker owes $11,571,909.26 in federal taxes for the years 2001, 2002 and 2004 through 2006.
Here's how it all breaks down:
2001 -- $4,007,794.34
2002 -- $5,060,074.23
2004 -- $55,544.84
2005 -- $660,414.94
2006 -- $1,788,080.91
But this isn't Tucker's first issue with taxes -- as we previously reported, the State of California filed a lien against Tucker for allegedly not paying $3,594,409 in state taxes over the same time span.
FYI -- Back in 2001, Tucker reportedly took in a $20 million payday for "Rush Hour 2" and scored $25 million for "Rush Hour 3" ... which hit theaters in 2007.
So far, no word from Chris' people on the tax situation.
It is with immense sorrow that we inform SoulTrackers that Al Goodman, one-third of Ray, Goodman & Brown as well as the Moments (”Love on a Two Way Street”), has died. Part of two of the most underrated soul groups of the past half century, Goodman provided the “bottom end” on hits such as “Special Lady” and “Take It To the Limit.” We had gotten to know Al here at SoulTracks, and he was a wonderful man and a consummate entertainer. He often wrote to us to tell us about the newest happenings with the group and always expressed a deep love for the audiences who had supported him throughout his career. All of the deaths of soul music greats so far in 2010 have hurt, but this one brings particular pain to us.
Ray Goodman and Brown. Part of the generation of soul music groups that arose in the late 60s and early 70s, the combination of Harry Ray, Al Goodman and Billy Brown became most notable as perhaps the greatest live performing group of that elite bunch. While many groups of that era had more successful recording careers, few have equaled the stage presence and consistent crowd pleasing shows of RG&B.
The newest cast member of “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” got married last weekend and let’s just say it had a little drama. Newcomer Cynthia Bailey nuptials in Atlanta to restaurateur Peter Thomas was held up for 45 minutes by castmate Nene Leakes, who barged into Bailey’s bridal suite and demanded her hair and makeup be done.
Not to be outdone, Kim Zolciak then got into a tiff with her blond boy toy, who “was checking out a hot redhead while puffing a cigar. Kim caught him in the act,” said a witness. Sheree Whitfield, Kandi Burruss and Phaedra Parks attended, but not Lisa Wu Hartwell, who I’m hearing is being axed.
I can’t wait for this season’s show to begin!!!
Unlike many of her existing cast mates, “RHOA” newest cast member is getting married this weekend.
Cynthia is marrying businessman, restauranteur and entrepreneur Peter Thomas tomorrow in Atlanta. And of course Bravo will be taping the event.
Here’s a snippet of the press release sent by Cynthia’s publicist:
Model Cynthia Bailey, one of the newest cast members of Bravo’s hit reality television show The Real Housewives of Atlanta, will walk down the aisle tomorrow night right here in Atlanta and the wedding ceremony and reception will be filmed for the upcoming third season of the hit series. Invited guests include all the current Atlanta housewives and the other new cast member for this upcoming season; actor Leon Robinson from “The Five Heartbeats” fame; R & B star Brandon Hines and a host of other celebrities.
Lucky invited wedding guests can expect a lot of surprise performances by all of the celebrities at the reception. And, of course, with NeNe, Kandi, Lisa and Sheree there, those wedding guests will probably get a little bit of drama too!
Bravo has yet to set a launch date for season three but presumably it will be sometime this fall after the D.C. version is finished.
As we previously reported, a woman sued McKnight last year claiming Brian is her long lost baby daddy. But McKnight didn't respond to her lawsuit, and the judge issued a default judgment against him ... which means he was on the hook for the cash.
McKnight eventually took a DNA 
According to the Associated Press, this fall, CBS is replacing the soap opera As the World Turns with an hour-long daily talk show with six co-hosts — all women, all mothers.
Those hosting the as-yet untitled daytime show include Holly Robinson Peete (we love her!), Sharon Osbourne; Leah Remini of The King of Queens, Julie Chen (host of The Early Show and CBS’ Big Brother), Sara Gilbert of TV’s Roseanne fame, and Broadway actress Marissa Jaret Winokur.
CBS said today that the new show will take a moms’ view of entertainment and news stories. And it looks like it’ll be rivaling its fellow woman’s roundtable discussion show “The View.”
As if the iPhone hasn’t saved your butt enough times, the new WorldLive Shopper App helps you save money while shopping. Didn’t think it was possible? Hear me out.
The WorldLive Shopper app is simple to use: All you do is program a list of your favorite stores into the app. Rather than having to look up the stores and keep track of the latest deals, the app tweets the latest deals right to your phone, even if you aren’t an active Twitter user. You can even share your favorite deals with your friends through Facebook, Twitter, or email. It’s the perfect way to stay on top of your shopping without having to keep track of a million coupons in your wallet.
The WorldLive Shopper app is for us ladies who love to shop but have a hard time organizing everything that our favorite stores have to offer. We are just as technologically capable as our male counterparts, so let’s use this awesome app that’s specifically designed for us. You will be updated on deals without having to search for them yourself. We are huge fans of this convenient app at HelloBeautiful, and it has definitely helped us when we needed a good deal fast!
