Morihei Ueshiba, the founder of the Japanese martial art of aikido, once said, “Loyalty and devotion lead to bravery. Bravery leads to the spirit of self-sacrifice. The spirit of self-sacrifice creates trust in the power of love.” Bryant H. McGill, the famous author, gave it to us like this, “Within the hearts of men, loyalty and consideration are esteemed greater than success.” Then Ricky Martin, the famous singer, shut the buildin’ down when he spit, “Amongst the qualities a hero should have, I would include determination, loyalty, courage, perseverance, patience, focus, intrepidity and selflessness.”
Well playas…LeBron has shown all of those and more. Some boyz talk loyalty and then there’s LeBron. Nearly a week ago ole boy announced that he would pay for all of the kids in his “I Promise” program in Akron, Ohio to go to college at the University of Akron. Currently there are about 1,100 kids in the program and over the next four years that number could swell to 2,300. Now keep in mind that it cost $38,000 per year to attend the University of Akron TODAY! The first graduating class of students currently in the program isn’t until 2021. So it’s gonna cost more than that when he’s gotta pay up. Now granted these kids have to keep their grades up and follow the program’s guideline etc. He’s not just givin’ bread away boyz/girlz have to earn it.
Now let’s keep it real or all the way 100, whichever comes 1st! I purposely didn’t write this joint until today because I wanted to sit back and watch the reaction of all the LeBron haters over the past week as they absorb this information. Again, haters are gonna hate bruh!
This dun is doin’ what no other cat that talks loyalty to the hood has EVER done. There are a ton of cats reppin’ hoods all over America but they aren’t doin’ a darn thing to carry the hood with them. And that’s the edited version.
Yeah, they take a few of the homies with them while they hoop in the NBA or play in the NFL but they aren’t changin’ lives. I see it every day while coverin’ the NBA as cats get drafted and show up with Pookie and Ray-Ray nem and all they do is lay around the player’s crib all day, eat and drink for free and wait for a boy to get off work so that they can eat and drink for free again that evenin’.
When their homeboy’s career is over they end up back in the hood with stories to tell all the duns that have never seen the outside of the hood before. Yes!!!! They’re back in the same spot with the duns that never left so they may as well have never gone on the field trip because they didn’t get anything out of it but free room and board for about 6 years, if that, with no transferable skills.
LeBron didn’t take his homeboys on an empty ride because he got them involved in the business from day one. Have you ever heard of a dun named Mav Carter? Mav is LeBron’s homeboy that now owns LBMR, which is the management firm that controls much of LeBron’s publicity, marketing and promotional deals. He’s the dun that signed Johnny Manziel etc. He’s the cat that has been instrumental in LeBron signin’ the entertainment deals with Starz etc. And he’s worth more than $15 million right now. Not because LeBron gave it to him but because he earned it because LeBron put him on. That’s loyalty bruh! If LeBron’s eatin’ his boyz are eatin’ and not off of his plate either. This ain’t Shoney’s! It’s Ruth’s Chris where everybody’s got their own plate and payin’ their own bill.
There is an old colloquialism that says, “If you give a man a fish he’ll eat for a day but if you teach him to fish he’ll eat for a lifetime.” All of you cats hatin’ on LeBron but love Mike’s dirty drawers. Ask yourself this question, “What has Mike done for anybody but Mike?” All Mike has ever done in more than 29 years is sold you sneakers and he’s never even had the decency to come to your hood and say thank you.
I don’t know about you playa, but I can’t be loyal to a cat that doesn’t even acknowledge that I exist. All of you cats runnin’ around the hood payin’ $200 plus for a pair of shoes from a dun that cares nothin’ about you is crazy to me. When cats die in the street for his shoes he doesn’t even make a statement to tell boyz to chill out. When was the last time you saw Mike in the hood even tryin’ to inspire some ghetto kids? Let me answer that one for you playa! NEVER!!!! I’ve been tellin’ you boyz for years why I’ve got no respect for Jordan and I recently wrote the Hot Joint entitled “Sand Man” so that it’ll be immortalized.
But a cat that takes his entire hood on the ride and gives them transferable skills you spit in his face because he hasn’t played on better T.E.A.M.’s than Mike or had better coaches than Mike.
What legacy has Mike left other than Mike’s? When LeBron is long gone there will be generations of kids from Akron, Ohio livin’ at a higher level because of the loyalty and generosity of LeBron. Not just Mav’s grandkids but some 2,300 other cats and their children’s children. Do you understand the legacy of success that this dude is plantin’ for the people that he’s loyal to.
Just think, if only 25 percent of the professional athletes from hoods all over this country re-invested back into their own hoods at only 25 percent of what LeBron is doin’ in 100 years there would be no hoods bruh. Why? Because when folks know better, they do better and then they teach others to do better. This is bigger than basketball playa. This is real life and bein’ what God has ordained you to be! He didn’t allow you to become rich just for you!!!
A leader of men is not just some dun gettin’ rich for the sake of bein’ rich, it’s a boy that teaches others to be great. Mike’s got a billion dollars and when he dies you may as well bury it with him because he’s not changin’ lives with it while he’s alive. He just keeps takin’ out of the hood and never puttin’ anything back. Now you can get mad at me for sayin’ what you’re already thinkin’ but I keeps it real playa!
Now y’all can hate on LeBron all you want but he’s doin’ what 99.999 percent of boyz won’t do and that’s teachin’ other boyz how to eat. Chew on this for a minute bruh, winnin’ championships doesn’t help kids from the ghetto unless they’re on the freakin’ team. Mike’s got 6 of ‘um and they’re killin’ boyz in the Chi like its Vietnam, the Gulf War and Afghanistan all rolled up together. Stop me when I start lyin’!
Playas Thesaurus:
2) Dun: noun – the person in question, dude, guy, etc. It’s whoever I’m talkin’ about and its non-gender specific.
