LeBron James Will Continue Commenting on Societal Issues

LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers says he won’t stop speaking his mind on social issues.

Although it may lose him some popularity, LeBron James takes his responsibility as a role model seriously.

LeBron James was speaking on the first episode of HBO’s “The Shop”. The show features an unscripted discussion between James and other prominent figures.

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James regularly speaks about race relations in America and has joined in public criticism of president Donald Trump.

“I want the satisfaction. Not for myself, but for everybody else,” he said.

“I was raised off of [rappers] Snoop [Dogg] and [Tupac] and [Jay-Z] and Biggie [Smalls], and now I get an opportunity to be the inspiration around what all of these kids are looking up to? And for me to just sit back and not say s— when a lot of my peers didn’t say s—? It didn’t feel right. At the end of the day, when I decided I was going to start speaking up and not giving a f— about the backlash or if it affects me, my whole mindset was it’s not about me.

“… My popularity went down. But at the end of the day, my truth to so many different kids and so many different people was broader than me personally.”

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The three time NBA Champion also responded to criticism of athletes speaking about societal issues. He has come in for criticism from Fox News host Laura Ingraham, among others.

Speaking at NBA All-Star 2018 in Los Angeles, he said:

“We will definitely not shut up and dribble,” James said. “I will definitely not do that, I mean too much to society, I mean too much to the youth. I mean too much to so many kids that feel like they don’t have a way out and they need someone to help lead them out of the situation they’re in.”