LeBron James: Is he the most powerful athlete in all of sports?
By Ronald Agers
LeBron James will always be in the discussion of being the best player in the NBA. That’s debatable. Is LeBron James the most powerful? Read and find out why his influence is spreading out from the NBA to the NFL and college sports!
LeBron James starts his journey to get the Los Angeles Lakers back on track when training camp starts at the end of the month. No matter if LeBron James meets the goal of leading the Lakers to the NBA title or not, the man has put in work influencing social issues in ways not seen since maybe Muhammad Ali.
What James is doing now with his social platforms is not only affecting the NBA, but his influence is starting to grow not only by the day but by the sport and athletic organization.
LeBron James already showed his powerful media influence by shining the light on the NCAA’s potential criteria by speaking out on the #RichPaulRule.
He started speaking out on Twitter foreshadowing the movement of speaking out for athletes and the promotion of the empowerment of not only professional athletes, but collegiate as well.
https://twitter.com/KingJames/status/1158883926640697345?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1158883926640697345&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Flakeshowlife.com%2F2019%2F08%2F09%2Flebron-james-speaks-out-ncaa-rich-paul-rule%2F
Oh, he’s not sorry at all. LeBron James is spearheading a movement that will change the landscape of sports for the next generation. It has already started on the West Coast dealing with NCAA student-athletes possibly being able to be compensated financially for the first time (legally) in history.
LeBron James took to Twitter to support the “Senate Bill 206” or “SB 206” for short to allow college athletes to get paid for endorsements. This is piggybacking the exposure that may have caused the NCAA to make changes in their agent criteria a month ago.
Taking a look back at LeBron James and the moves that he has made throughout his career, most have subliminally provided advocation for player rights. He has provided the blueprint on how players can benefit from the riches of free agency that many players enjoyed just this past summer.
From opening doors for players to switch teams easily, to structuring NBA contracts for greater flexibility and higher salaries, LeBron James has taken what Michael Jordan did in the ’90s and moved it into the social media era.
The three-time NBA champion has used his several media platforms that provided an opportunity for his colleagues to advocate for themselves through his documentaries on cable as well as his highly controversial show on HBO called “The Shop”.
Now, instead of hearing narratives through the hot takes of media pundits, there are options that not only athletes, but fans can go to for information.
Lake Show Life takes a broad look at the biggest athletic advocate in the world today, LeBron James.