“Where are we at in society today? Come after me! I’m a man! I’m 40! I’m not a kid!” It was seventeen years ago when legendary coach Mike Gundy went on his now-iconic rant, calling out an Oklahoman columnist for authoring a negative and factually incorrect article about QB Bobby Reid. LeBron James brought Gundy’s historic words back to life, relating to the Oklahoma State coach’s message, on his 40th birthday.

Sure enough, the entire hoops community showered LBJ with birthday wishes. And he responded with a wholesome Thank You note in his latest Instagram post along with a video of the “I’m 40!” section of Mike’s rant.

“I now truly understand where he was coming from! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣. Thanks to everyone for the BIG 4-0 Bday wishes throughout the day so far and until the day is over with! I appreciate the love! 🙏🏾🙏🏾🤎🫡👑” James hilariously confessed, upon reaching the same age Gundy was during his outburst.

Although LBJ might have resurfaced the football coach’s rant to highlight his age, Gundy’s outburst served a far bigger purpose when it happened in 2007—addressing an issue that might be even more relevant today. Yes, we are talking about the media criticizing athletes, especially young college students. Well, Gundy’s rant was targeted toward columnist Jenni Carlson, as he urged the media to write about and criticize him instead of young athletes like Reid, who are “doing everything right.”

“Here’s all that kid did: he goes to class, he’s respectful to the media, he’s respectful to the public, and he’s a good kid. And he’s not a professional athlete, and he doesn’t deserve to be kicked when he’s down,” Mike remarked. And he even called the editor as well as the newspaper that let the article go public, “Garbage.”

Obviously, no one understands Gundy’s words better than LeBron because he has been in the public eye since he was a kid in High School. He has faced all kinds of media criticism and fans’ wrath an athlete can go through.

LeBron James was once ‘BANNED’ from playing basketball

Before LBJ even turned eighteen, he was a well-renowned name in the hoop community. Although it made him a household name, his popularity also had its drawbacks. It was in 2003 that James was banned from playing the final five games of the season during his senior year. The reason?

Two jerseys worth $845 that he accepted as a gift from an Ohio-based store. Of course, amateur athletes were not allowed to accept such gifts at the time. It could even affect their eligibility to go pro.

As expected, the ban became national news and James was villainized by many media outlets, even though he was just a teenager who wanted to play his favorite sport. And that’s exactly the kind of treatment Mike stood up against seventeen years ago. Well, the ban was lifted after James made an appeal to the authorities.

LBJ has come a long way since then and is arguably the best basketball player ever. But not all student-athletes are that lucky. Some might crumble under media and public pressure, impacting their personal and professional life. And Gundy’s rant makes every critic introspect as he said best, “Who’s the kid here?”