Billy Trice
Sports Editor
Los Angeles Lakers’ power forward Lebron James has been at the top of the national basketball stage since he was in high school.
Throughout his long basketball career, he has accumulated countless awards and accolades for his play on the court.
Off the court, he’s also made waves with his outstanding community service work that marks him with the title as one of the top black role models to ever arise to the top of Black Culture.
Let’s face it, it’s hard for a young black man to see examples of men who look like them at the forefront of multimillion-dollar businesses. Or men who are handling their personal and work life to near perfection.
It’s just uncommon for these types of minority males to exist because of how hard it is to be black in this country.
Many young black males find it hard, or impossible, to beat the systematic inequalities that they face daily. Many feel like they have no hope, but with the emergence of James, many kids have a blueprint to how they can make it from the current position they are in.
James is one of the best basketball players to ever touch a ball because he plays the game perfectly. He does the same off the court.
I don’t believe we have been privy to this type of outstanding black male talent, who stands without a single blemish on their record, since the great Magic Johnson.
James aided in the effort to fire a racist NBA owner Donald Sterling, Protested for minorities who didn’t have the same platform as him.
Built his own school for kids and teens, all while being the best NBA player for the last 16 years.
The main person who he is consistently compared to is Michael Jordan, and the main criticism of him is his unwillingness to speak up about social issues.
In a sense, you could say that if you take basketball out of the equation, then James is better than Jordan based solely on their off the court endeavors.
His biggest effect off the court was his recent support that he lent to the state of California’s governor Gavin Newsom in the state’s successful effort in passing the Fair Pay to Play Act. This bill will allow all collegiate athletes the ability to make money from their own likeness.
This moment is monumental in the progress to level the playing field between the NCAA as well as big corporations and the athletes.
The hit TV show “The Shop” is one of the reasons he has been able to be so effective in the public eye and he owes that to has his long-time childhood friend and agent, Maverick Carter.
His assistance in helping James brand himself so perfectly off the court lead to his effect on today’s current society.
If you don’t like him because of his playstyle or because he’s talked about being better than Jordan, then I get it, but what you will never be able to say is that you don’t like the man off the court because he has done far too much for his community and has way too clean of a record for anyone to ever question his character.
Email Billy at:
btrice@live.esu.edu
