LeBron James does good work in his hometown of Akron, Ohio. He also happens to be a very strong swimmer. The two, according to Gabrielle Union, are most certainly related.
LeBron and his wife Savannah gave a rare dual interview with Vogue in which the two discuss their projects in and around the Akron, Ohio, area. The Jameses have devoted their time to food inequality, education, and even prom dresses for at-risk youths.
Throughout the interview, the couple is praised for their hands-on approach to the community initiatives they’ve undertaken. And Union, a family friend and wife of Dwyane Wade, shared an interesting story about how James once rescued a snorkeler during a tropical vacation.
Union and her husband, Dwyane Wade, with other friends and athletes, were out snorkeling in the Bahamas a few years back. Some, including Wade, were ocean-shy, city-born and not as strong at swimming as LeBron. (“LeBron, it turns out, is Aquaman!” Union says.) Eventually, the group got out in the water, though at the end of the swim, when everyone was back in the boat, LeBron took a count and noticed a man missing, immediately diving back in. “He literally brings our friend back, like something out of an episode of Baywatch,” Union says. “Because he’s that guy, and when you see that, you know he is not going to leave these at-risk kids behind or an NBA player snorkeling. He’s that guy who dives in.”
My first thought here is 1) is this the infamous Banana Boat vacation? And 2) did LeBron James save another NBA player from drowning once? This seems remarkably underreported if that’s true.
The work James and Savannah do in Akron really is remarkable, though. They are trying to rework the educational system in low-income areas in a way that’s different from the charter schools push seen in many communities around the country. And the results they’ve seen through the LeBron James Family Foundation have been impressive.
What started with 232 students five years ago has now grown to more than 1,200, whom LeBron, Savannah, and the foundation staff meet with regularly to communicate goals and needs. At all their meetings the students renew their promise to finish school. Recently, in response to parent and teacher demand, the foundation started the Hard Work Club, covering the cost of teachers for after-school time and for additional books. And in 2015, LeBron announced free tuition to the University of Akron for anyone who stays in the James family’s program through high school (and meets particular requirements regarding schoolwork and community service); parents who came to the announcement wept. Through all this, LeBron pops in for appearances, hosts meals, robo-calls kids around test times, writes notes of encouragement, and wears a wristband that, when he’s on TV, the kids in his program can recognize as theirs.
This year, the Jameses announced the radical step of establishing an entire new public elementary school for students identified as at-risk. It’s a powerful experiment that bucks the charter school–heavy trend of public education, radically proposing to give more to the students who have the least—as his “uncle” has noticed. “When you can change a kid’s life for the better, you’re accomplishing something great,” says Buffett, a well-known cheerleader for public schools. “With LeBron, it comes from the heart, and it comes from having been there.”
The interview is also a rare look at the relationship LeBron and Savannah have between the couple and also with their children. Union and other friends and family say they really are a normal couple, which seems ridiculous given that he’s, you know, LeBron James. But it’s nonetheless an interesting snapshot of the NBA’s most important player at home and in the community. It’s a welcome change from all the drama surrounding what will happen to the Cavaliers this fall.
