LeBron James opens up.(Image via Getty Images)
Because i was still living in it, i can’t say that it kept me all the way away from it.
In an interview with Teen Vogue, the four time NBA champion LeBron James reflected on the violence he witnessed while growing up as he said, “What kept me away from the violence when I was young was sports. In the same interview, the NBA icon said, “I fell in love with the game of basketball. Me being able to play sports, and finding a group of friends through sports, it just kept me away from it. But not only that, I fell in love with being around people that had the same goals as me.
And that’s not even saying being an NBA player, but we just wanted to be together and have fun. The group of guys that I met — every day I wanted to be around them. LeBron James added, “We had the same goals, the same passion. We knew what we wanted to do. We wanted to ride bikes around town. We wanted to laugh and crack jokes with one another. We wanted to play basketball. We wanted to play football. We had the same things going. What also kept me focused was wanting to help my mother have a better life. She was giving so much to me and sacrificing everything in her life for me to be who I was. I wanted to make sure that I paid her back more than she could ever even imagine. That’s what kept me focused.
Despite the situations he was born into, the NBA icon fought his way to success and is one of the most talented athletes today.