LeBron James & Tiger Woods: Same star power, separate legacies

LeBron James talks with reporters about his home being vandalized, the NBA Finals and his lasting legacy. Courtesy ABC.

Two of the greatest athletes of our generation were in the news this week. Tiger Woods and LeBron James were the subjects of push alerts on my phone for reasons I was alarmed by.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock you now know Tiger Woods was pulled over for a DUI in Jupiter, Florida on Monday.

On Wednesday, LeBron James had a racial slur sprayed on the front gates of his Brentwood, California mansion.

My immediate feelings were sadness for both. Sadness because LeBron wasn’t immune to hate when his primary job is to entertain. Sadness because Tiger Woods likely will never be the change agent in golf we once thought he’d inevitably would.

Both men are compared more with Michael Jordan than they are to each other, because they both had the opportunity to fulfill their promise and have a similar legacy of greatness.

It is in the comparison of their grooming and how that relates to their outward compassion not their greatness that is more revealing.

At a time when LeBron could have rightly been angry at the perpetrator or annoyed his moment in the Finals media sun was stolen, he was a class act.

“As I sit here on the eve of one of the greatest sporting events that we have in sports, race — and what’s going on — comes again and on my behalf and my family’s behalf,” James opened his press availability. “But I look at it as this: I mean, if this — if this is to shed a light and continue to keep the conversation going on my behalf, then I’m okay with it.”

“I think back to Emmett Till’s mom, actually. It’s kind of one of the first things I thought of, and the reason that she had an open casket is because she wanted to show the world what her son went through as far as a hate crime and being black in America,” the three-time MVP said, educating with historical context.

Then he opened up a window of present-day realities by concluding with: “No matter how much money you have, no matter how famous you are, no matter how many people admire you, being black in America is — it’s tough. And we got a long way to go for us as a society and for us as African Americans, until we feel equal in America.”

No, that wasn’t a statement by Barack Obama in front of the White House press corps. It was by LeBron James, with no notes in front of him, who, prior to this occurrence, was solely focused on how to best abuse the Golden State Warriors guards in the pick and roll. 

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Other than a high-school diploma from St. Vincent-St. Mary, James has no formal education. He didn’t go to college, he went straight to the league. He always knew he was going to be a pro basketball player. It must have been hard to concentrate on your social studies class when you’re driving to school in a Hummer and on the cover of Sports Illustrated, which he’s graced 25 times since.

It makes his social awareness and mature adjustment to the limelight more impressive than his out-of-this world talent.

Tiger Woods was also a child prodigy but he had situational benefits James could only dream of. Woods had a great relationship with his father, Earl. James was raised in the Akron projects by a young, single mother Gloria and had no relationship with his father.

Woods attended Stanford, seemingly benefiting from the education and socialization the institution provides. LeBron’s graduate degree was at the school of hard-knocks.

Which is why the juxtaposition of James running point with press not long removed from Tiger’s field sobriety video being released is jarring.

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This is not to demean Woods, who is dealing with challenges and is, like all of us, human. From a sociological aspect LeBron should more readily relate to struggle. He came from it. The comparison is made only to shed a light on how difficult it is for a top African American celebrity athlete to navigate these waters effectively.

Tiger’s fall held up against LeBron’s clear-skies navigation of a treacherous path underscores LeBron’s impending legacy.

Woods will be remembered for having a peak similar to Jordan, where he alone was a bigger draw than the sport itself. LeBron will have a legacy not to the same level but similar to Muhammad Ali, where his cultural impact is bigger than just in sports.

His “we are family” foundation and “I promise” initiative has sent up infrastructure for thousands of under-privileged kids to get a postsecondary education.

LeBron not only said Trayvon Martin could have been his child he stood in solidarity with his teammates to depict that Trayvon Martin could have been him. 

After Donald Sterling’s racist recordings were leaked, LeBron sent a message to the league that owners weren’t above reproach and even threatened to sit out the next season if Sterling remained. There’s no question that had impact on Adam Silver’s first major ruling

Along with his friends Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, and Chris Paul, he began the 2016 ESPY’s with a cold open on why gun violence has to stop and athlete activism needs to start.

The micro aggressions via coded language that black men face every day was brought to light when James explained why Phil Jackson labelling his business associates a “posse” was offensive. 

Those are just some the things James has influenced that I can list off the top of my head.

And he hasn’t been tied to scandals; the only thing he’s publicly ridiculed for at this point is his hairline

Even “the decision” TV special which some consider a blemish to his record used its record ratings to make a donation to the Boys and Girls club. 

Over time his legacy will be not just the number of championships he caused but what causes he championed.

Now, in part thanks to James, conversations about race are a subject at the Finals, and it has nothing to do with the fact that there are two black coaches on the sidelines for the first time since 1975. 

LeBron’s willingness to speak ushered in era of NBA outspokenness by Adam Silver on LGBTQ issues, Enes Kanter on European politics and Gregg Popovich and Steve Kerr on everything seemingly from Donald trump to gun control.

You’d be hard pressed to come up with any social impact Tiger Woods has had. After breaking records at Augusta, he refused to speak up to allow women in the club. The promise of a generation of black golfers in his wake never came.

Has he said anything about anything that was remotely captivating and interesting? Even his famous apology was a how to on how not to rehabilitate your image via press conference.

To be clear it is not Woods obligation to be an activist on the side of being an athlete. Nobody is putting a microphone in Sidney Crosby’s face asking him to weigh in on aboriginal issues in Canada or the balance of power in the Conservative party.

There is an unfair expectation on African-American athletes to be more than just athletes. It’s actually more dangerous if they succumb to pressure and speak out on issues when they are ill informed.

Although I don’t take credit away from Woods for not being as internally motivated to make a difference as I’d hope, I’m also not going to reference him historically beyond his playing career, which quite possibly could already be over.

It’s unlikely we’ll be reading Tiger Woods books to our children. University kids of future generations won’t grow up with Tiger Woods posters on their wall.

As far as how these two 21st-century black superstar’s will be remembered and what they’ll be remembered for; we already know everything I need to know.

Muhammad Ali wasn’t the greatest technical boxer but he’s remembered as the greatest because he transcended time. He didn’t just fight in the ring he fought for causes he believed in outside of it.

James might not finish as the winningest superstar of his time but he is the most woke. His legacy will be that he didn’t just do it for the championships he did it for the culture.

LeBron always wanted to be bigger than basketball. By being the bigger man on the eve of the finals he was.

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