They may be rivals on the court, but the two most popular players in the NBA are nothing but supportive of each other off it.
LeBron James is not only one of the greatest basketball players in NBA history, but he’s an outstanding human being off the court. That shouldn’t be up for debate after last week, when the Los Angeles Lakers superstar opened up the I PROMISE School in his hometown of Akron, Ohio.
The I PROMISE School is more than just a school. It’s a school that James created to help combat many of the issues facing not only our nation’s youth, but their parents as well. In addition to providing hundreds of at-risk students with a strong education, the school has free transportation, free meals, free bikes, a pantry for parents, GED and job placement for parents, and full tuition to the University of Akron for all graduates. It’s a game-changer.
After officially unveiling the school, James appeared on CNN to give a tour of the school to Don Lemon. During the segment, James spoke on the racism and divisiveness of president Donald Trump, saying, among other things, that “Sports has never been something that divides people. It’s always been something that brings someone together. He is dividing us and what I noticed over the last few months is that he’s kinda used sports to divide us and that’s something I can’t relate to, because I know that sports was the first time I was ever around someone white.”
To no one surprise, Trump fired back on his favorite platform, Twitter, to insult both James and Lemon.
The NBA community was quick to come to James’ defense. A huge number of players spoke out, including Steph Curry.
James and Curry have, of course, been rivals on the court. But they’re incredibly supportive of each other, and have been for some time.
And really, how can you not be supportive of James after this spectacular act of charity and leadership?