LeBron James is well known for actively using his voice and status to speak out on various issues. The context could easily be outside the NBA as well as within it. Needless to say, he always looks to make an impact on his large following by usually communicating a message through social media.
The message’s nature varies based on the issue. However, for the majority, these refer to condolence messages and apologetic messages. If a tragedy occurs, one must wonder if LeBron feels the impulse or pressure to respond or react on social media.
This may be difficult to predict as issues occur across the world daily that is worth drawing attention to. The 4x NBA champion reveals the different factors that go into his decision-making process when deciding to speak up on various issues on the latest episode of a youtube show called “The Shop“.
LeBron James its all about whether the message hits home for him
Being a fully-fledged man, King James feels an obligation to use his power and reach to raise awareness or sympathy towards certain issues. He was asked what his point of view was on when he should use his massive platform to speak up. His response is interesting.
“I mean some of the things is definitely right now if things happen I feel like it hit home to me and I feel it in my gut my heart and in my heart, like if its something that happened in the black community, no matter if it’s in my hometown of Akron or Los Angeles of Shreveport, Louisianna, I’ll speak about it right away.”
This is definitely what LeBron has done in the past. Regardless of the geographic distance to the incident, an immediate reaction on Twitter or Instagram would soon follow. However, he also added.
“There are also matters that I’m not educated on that don’t hit home for me… you shouldn’t feel obligated to speak about everything but I think when it feels heavy in your heart and your gut…“.
He is very straightforward and honest at this point. Every human feels the need to react to situations. However, they might not be the most informed or qualified to do so. They do not hesitate to ramble on the internet with half-accurate biased opinions. This is a luxury that LeBron cannot afford as he is simply so popular and well-known.