One problem with printed quotes is you can't see the facial expression of the person giving it. That's why I'm so intrigued by comments about LeBron James attributed to Clair Muscaro, commissioner of the Ohio High School Athletic Association.

Muscaro has launched an investigation over "some concerns" that James already might be capitalizing on his NBA future.

There's no way Clair said that with a straight face now, is there?

	Everyone is getting paid around LeBron James. So why can't LeBron?

Muscaro and OHSAA are alarmed that James is now cruising his high school campus in a brand-new, tricked-out Hummer H2. (Forget the three TVs -- check out the rims on that monster -- every news report lists the base price as $50,000 but an NBA player can tell you James' rig, as outfitted, goes for at least 75 grand.) The concern, apparently, is over who paid for that vehicle.

My question is, why didn't the school or the OHSAA or anyone else who has been raking in money off the massive interest in James' talent pay for it? Where is all that money going? I'm all for the concept of playing for personal development and love of competition and all that. There are places on this planet where it still exists and nothing is more refreshing or honorable than to visit one of them. But James left that universe a while ago. He stopped being an amateur and a typical high school athlete long before the exotic SUV arrived in his driveway. The organizations for which he plays simply turned a blind eye to it all until now.

And although I love the notion of no one getting rich off LeBron James until he turned professional, the only way that could have happened is if he simply played out his games in the same old gyms against the same old teams. Since no one opted for that, I'm having a hard time understanding why it's OK for everyone else to get rich off the interest in LeBron except LeBron.

"Now that he's got a car like mine, everybody wants to come down on him," Celtics forward Eric Williams said. "When he was giving everybody joy playing on TV the week before, no one was saying anything. They weren't saying anything when they started showing his games on pay-per-view. He's providing for a lot of people, why shouldn't he get some of that himself? Whatever he gets, I'm happy for him. He put himself in position to get it."

Exactly. James' team is being flown and feted all over the country. He's drawing crowds of 10,000-plus at ticket prices five times higher than normal. He has been on ESPN2 twice. He was invited to exclusive workouts in Chicago with Michael Jordan and other NBA stars. He's got all the free shoes and gear he and his friends and family could ever want.

All that was OK, though, because mostly large, faceless entities were reaping the rewards of James' fame or we couldn't attach an actual dollar sign to them. This is different only because instead of the coin quietly slipping into an athletic bank account or someone's Armani suit, it's out there for everyone to see, as obvious as -- well, as a gold-rimmed Hummer in a high school parking lot.

Of course, if you've been around the ruse of amateur athletics for any stretch of time, you know LeBron is apparently an amateur when it comes to off-the-court moves. Anyone with skills would have laid low until no one was looking or no one cared.

	“	I don't blame him, but he could've chilled for a minute. Makes you wonder who's telling him what to do. Besides, he's from the projects just like I am. What are you going to do with a ride like that in the 'hood? ”
		— Cuttino Mobley

"He couldn't wait a couple of months, when he'll have $30 million and be done playing high school?" Rockets guard Cuttino Mobley asked. "Then you get whatever you want and no one would say anything. I don't blame him, but he could've chilled for a minute. Makes you wonder who's telling him what to do. Besides, he's from the projects just like I am. What are you going to do with a ride like that in the 'hood?"

If James had gone for something a little less ostentatious for just a few months -- a nice Lexus, an understated Tahoe -- the bank flow might still be under the radar and this wouldn't be a national issue. That LeBron's advisers didn't tell him or couldn't convince him of that is troubling because the scrutiny of every move he makes, on and off the court, isn't likely to diminish. If he doesn't understand that perception is reality and reality is that a star athlete flashing any shred of nobility or character can make a bundle, he'll never realize his full earning potential. He'll still live well, but instead of Michael Jordan wealth, say, he'll be closer to the Dennis Rodman end of the spectrum.

But all that will be decided years from now. LeBron can put all this behind him with his first 30-point game. It's the OHSAA that has some work to do. Now that they've decided James actually might not be living the normal life of a high school athlete, they're either going to accept that fact -- opening the door for every high school and elite player to chase dividends, posthaste -- or end his high school career, which means the end of all those hefty gate and TV revenues.

Or maybe that investigation will drag out until James' season is over, so that everyone gets their slice before any actual legislating has to be done.

"They're just helping LeBron if that happens," Mobley said, "because he can just sit pretty and wait."

No problem. Those Hummer seats recline, don't they?

Ric Bucher covers the NBA for ESPN The Magazine. E-mail him at ric.bucher@espnmag.com.