For many people the only way for success or the only way out of an underprivileged area is sports. The sad truth is that many people don’t have the school intelligence or the financial support to go to college or to make money in the real world. Sports are a way for people to make something more of their lives. Many athletes blessed enough to play professional sport give back to the community they grew up in. A prime example of an athlete making it from nothing is the best basketball player in the world Lebron James. James is from Akron, Ohio where he lived in a single parent household with his mom. With no father figure and his mom working jobs from morning to night James found comfort in basketball. While keeping his grades up and working hard on the court James was able to make it to the NBA where he won a NBA title, and on top of that he has won two Olympic Gold medals. Sports are a way for people to make something more of their lives, and give back to the kids that will come after them. James said in an interview at his old high school, "I would not be where I am today without basketball." James took the most of an opportunity and without basketball he would not have been as successful.
Lebron James current house, he grew up in a two bed one bathroom house before making it to the NBA.
The whole point of my topic is to demonstrate that sports are more than just a game, more than just an hour our two of fun. Sports have a huge impact on society, sports have impacted history and change people’s lives. James is just one prime example of someone that was able to get out of a bad situation using his talent. According to ESPN analyst Peter Keating 48% of NBA players come from underprivileged areas. On top of that, 38% of NBA and NFL players come from a one parent household. This does not mean that people from underprivileged areas are better athletes, but rather they work harder for success because they understand the difficulty of making it out of a poor area. Below I attached an article that I found on ESPN about the impact of underprivileged players and the direction sports are going in.
I completely agree with what you are saying here Henri. I think it really helps to demonstrate with the picture of Lebron James' house. There really are numerous examples of athletes who have been able to get out of terrible living conditions through sports. It is always a good story when you here about someone who battled through so many issues when they were younger, to eventually prosper as a professional athlete. Like you said, it maybe these kids only opportunities to improve their lives, and this is where sports become so powerful. This is just one of the major impacts that sports bring the community.
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