This morning, I saw where Lebron James' girlfriend is due to give birth one day next week, a day that James' team has a game scheduled. He said emphatically that if the baby does come on a game day, he would not attend the birth, and instead would play in the game. I have also recently heard Jeff Gordon say that if he needs to miss a race to attend the birth of his upcoming child, he would do so. Tiger Woods' wife is due to give birth during the British Open next month, and he has said he would skip it in order to be there for the birth.

There was a time when athletes rarely took time off from their sports to attend the birth of their children. The prevailing attitude was that the game was more important than the family. Then, a hockey player's wife died while giving birth, with the hockey player on the road. Attitudes began to shift, and now it is common for athletes to miss games in order to witness the birth of their children. In this light, I am incredulous that James, or anyone else, would miss the birth of a child in order to play. That seems screwed up.