The Miami Heat Would Rather Not Credential People Who Criticize Them

You may not have heard of Scott Raab, but chances are, if you've ever read an Esquire in airport, you've read some of his work. He's about as good as any writer around, which means he's roughly 1,000 times more competent than 98 percent of sportswriters anywhere.

Alas, even though he's writing a book about LeBron James and the Miami Heat (and the Cleveland Cavaliers), Raab has been denied credentials by the Miami Heat, a decision apparently supported by the NBA. And sure, it's a completely fair decision, but I'd just like to say that Scott Raab hates LeBron James more than anyone I've ever seen, anywhere, and if criticism gets you banned in the NBA, at least Raab hasn't been shy about it.

His hate for LeBron is a glorious spectacle of bile, sneering, and deep, vigilant loathing, never missing an opportunity to remind LeBron just how awful a person he is. Go follow him on Twitter, just for the entertainment. You may think you "hate" LeBron, but make no mistake: Scott Raab puts the rest of us to shame.

So yeah, technically speaking, I don't blame Miami for denying his access. But it's still a good opportunity to praise Raab. Like that scene in Man On Fire, where Christopher Walken talks about artists:

He'll deliver more justice in a weekend than ten years of your courts and tribunals. ... A man can be an artist in anything. Food, whatever. Creasy's art is death. He's about to paint his masterpiece.

...and down in Miami, one tweet and article at a time, Scott Raab is painting his.

He can bring more justice in a night of tweeting than years of Adrian Wojnarowski's screeds at Yahoo! or Bill Simmons' work at ESPN. And no matter what you think of LeBron James, you should take the time to stand back and admire the masterpiece (of hatred). Because while the rest of us slowly soften our stance and move on, it's kind of great to see a native Ohioan stick to his guns like this.

Like when LeBron was tweeting about the Jets-Browns game this past weekend:

But they haven't quit. Look in the mirror, motherf***er. You're a f**king loser and always will be. RT @KingJames Sanchez is wearing them down

Or during last week's Celtics-Heat game:

Coach Spo big on passion. #WhoreOfAkron big on talking empty s**t and killing coaches.

Or a hundred other tweets that were just as ridiculous.

Oh, and the edits are ours, of course. We wouldn't want to risk being censored by the Miami Heat.