LeBron James is starting to accumulate powerful enemies.
This is not about his back and forth with Donald Trump. LaVar Ball accomplished that. This is not about media pundits making comments like “Shut up and Dribble”. LeBron is too media savvy to let those types bother him. This is about the legitimate power that LeBron James flexed big time this summer.
First, he used his social media influence that could change the landscape of sports for the next generation. It dealt with NCAA student-athletes possibly being able to be compensated financially for the first time (legally) in history.
James took to Twitter to support the “Senate Bill 206” or “SB 206” for short to allow college athletes to get paid for endorsements.
Everyone is California- call your politicians and tell them to support SB 206! This law is a GAME CHANGER. College athletes can responsibly get paid for what they do and the billions they create.
— LeBron James (@KingJames) September 5, 2019
Read the last few words. Billions. The NCAA heads are not thrilled to see an athlete start a movement that will potentially cost them trillions over the next decade.
This happens right after LeBron basically caused a PR nightmare for the NCAA when they tried to implement agent criteria. One tweet from LeBron spelling out his views on the subject and the NCAA changed course quickly.
— LeBron James (@KingJames) August 6, 2019
Not only was the rule rescinded but the NBA agents unanimously boycotted the agent exam. This is a power move never seen before. LeBron James took on an organization in the NCAA and won a couple of battles. He’s going to have to play well to stay in the war.
What is “Revenge Season”? Media propaganda. Nothing less, nothing more. It’s another marketing plan that feeds the NBA news cycle.
During the season, announcers will call LeBron James a force of nature, a runaway locomotive (Shout out to Cleveland Cavaliers announcer Austin Carr!), the definition of a champion (Mark Jackson might say this once, twice, okay a lot!).
Now NBA fans and others with interests outside of the arena will see if his iconic status of player empowerment off the court turns out to be his weakness on it.