LeBron James‘s life could have gone a different way. Bad choices can waylay anyone, but James grew up in the kind of challenging circumstances that too often signal a dead end for young kids — even those with big talent. (The age-old story of escaping tough lives through a rise to stardom prominently features a road littered with those who don’t make it.)
James makes it his business to pave that road, giving back with efforts like his I Promise School and more. But it’s really in is messaging that James can be most effective because that reaches more kids. And, in this case, parents.
James shouts out the luminous young star Zendaya, praising her for keeping it all too real as recovering addict Rue Bennett on HBO’s big new hit drama Euphoria. Importantly, James addresses the parents of at-risk kids. (And all kids are at-risk — they’re kids, after all.) Calling it “super dope and a real perspective,” James acknowledges that Euphoria is a show, “but real life,” he says. “Parents please listen but more importantly just pay attention to signs!”
