In a recent interview with CNN”s Rachel Nichols, LeBron James discussed several of the hot button issues in sports and society today including; the Ray Rice incident, Atlanta Hawks’ GM Danny Ferry’s remarks and fatherhood.
On what he told his sons about the Ray Rice incident:
“I left it as simple as this: ‘Never put your hand on a woman. Never put your hand on a classmate that’s a female. It’s not allowed, it’s not condoned in this house, and it shouldn’t be condoned in this world. And your dad would never put his hand on your mother.’”
On Danny Ferry:
Danny was the GM when I was there in Cleveland. And I never got that sense about him. But that doesn’t mean, you know, what he said about Luol Deng absolutely wrong. It was very insensitive. And there’s no room for that in our sport. I mean, we all know that, obviously. There’s not no room for that in our league, or any league, or not even a league. There’s not room for that in society.
What advice does he offer his his son Bronnie on basketball – LeBron jr. is already being tracked in the 4th grade as a top hoops prospect:
That’s the tough part. As you said, Rachel, how do I guide him? There is no — you can go to Borders or, you know, and find books on parenting. There is no booklet where no one can tell you on how to raise your kids. And you know, every single day is always challenging. And for my kids even more challenging, because their dad is famous.
But I feel like the morals and the goals and the things that I teach them I just want to lay the path for them and let them, at the end of the day, make their own decisions, you know. And hopefully, the — the way that I’ve been teaching them will, when they get to a fork in the road, they will know what’s right, and not go left.
Actually LeBron, there’s a whole section on parenting. Doesn’t mean it’s the right move for your specific scenario but, I get the general idea.
LeBron also talked about the fact that he is outspoken on several social issues. He said if he feels passionate about it, he’ll speak out. However, he doesn’t speak without educating himself.
