Great post, Justin.
People have always called Crosby a cry-baby, diver, etc. but did they ever realize that this guy doesn't have an enforcer to watch his back? How many big, strong guys protected Gretzky? Quite a few. Even McDavid has Lucic. Crosby has no one, and yet he just won two cups back-to-back and that's very impressive. Put it this way: if you have to put up with so much abuse game after game, aren't you going to become a whiner? He gets his head bashed in frequently, gets elbowed, and nasty things are said to him, heck, he even had one guy spray him what his water bottle - can you blame Crosby for acting the way he does? Oh, and he has also suffered around 5 concussions and the man is only 29 years old.
I like how you mention LeBron James - yes, both of these athletes share many similarities. A lot of people hate James, but they would LOVE to have him play for their team, right?