Beware "The Disease of Me"

Pat Riley's "The Disease of Me" is an iconic warning informing what fractures teams.

The List: 

1. Inexperience in dealing with sudden success.  
2. Chronic feelings of under-appreciation.  
3. Paranoia over being cheated out of one’s rightful share.  
4. Resentment against the competence of partners.  
5. Personal effort mustered solely to outshine a teammate. 
6. A leadership vacuum resulting from the formation of cliques and rivalries.  
7. Feelings of frustration even when the team performs successfully.  

The ultimate success sees an overlap of the Venn Diagram of character and competence. 

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The "Disease of Me" happens because character misaligns with competence...

Nobody does themselves any favor when characterized by failings on this list. I share some extreme examples.

Inexperience in dealing with sudden success.  

- Len Bias dies of a drug overdose after the NBA draft.

- Johnny Manziel went from celebrity college QB to NFL bust.

Chronic feelings of under-appreciation. 

 

- A great player in his own right, Scottie Pippen didn't always wear well as Robin to Michael Jordan's Batman

Paranoia over being cheated out of one’s rightful share.

  

- Terrell Owens often was viewed as feeling lack of credit for his performances as an NFL star receiver.

Resentment against the competence of partners.

  

- Kobe and Shaq both contributed mightily to the Lakers' success. They played great together but not always well together. 

Personal effort mustered solely to outshine a teammate.

 

- Internal competition isn't always a good thing as illustrated by the struggles among Kobe, Dwight Howard, and Steve Nash

A leadership vacuum resulting from the formation of cliques and rivalries.  

- In the late 1970s the schism between skipper Billy Martin and star Reggie Jackson created "The Bronx Zoo"

Feelings of frustration even when the team performs successfully.  

- KD helped the Warriors win big but didn't always feel accepted. 

The same issues occur to a small scale with players from elementary school through college. All coaches and players have their stories. You may have heard, "Ego is not your amigo." 

Great ambitions bear fruit when players sacrifice (minutes, roles, recognition) and put the team first. It takes strong coaching leadership and internal player leadership to make that happen. 

Lagniappe. Study and refine your takeoff process. 

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