Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James is one busy man. Apart from representing the Purple and Gold, James is involved with several sports outside the basketball spectrum, expanding his already-impressive portfolio.
In mid-March, James, along with his business partner Maverick Carter, joined Fenway Sports Group, the parent company of prominent professional teams such as the Boston Red Sox of MLB. He also held a 2% stake in Liverpool F.C., the English Premier League team, but traded that in for a larger role with the club and ownership group.
When this news broke, it meant that James and Carter would become the company’s first Black partners, eliminating a barrier that James hopes will serve as inspiration for people who hope to be in similar positions one day.
Since James is taking on a bigger role with the company, he could be involved in more duties to aid both franchises moving forward. Tom Werner, chairman of the Red Sox and Liverpool, explained how James and Carter’s acumen could help the ownership group, via The Athletic:
“I will be surprised actually if they don’t weigh in (on management decisions of either team), I would welcome their thoughts,” Werner said. “I think that the relationship that the consumer has with a sporting team is an emotional one. I consider Maverick to be one of my closest friends, and I’ve spent hours with him talking about strategy, coaching, the lessons that I’ve learned from (Liverpool manager) Jurgen Klopp, and the lessons that he’s learned as an astute observer of basketball.
“We have a very collaborative relationship, so I would actually say that their wisdom and their experience is going to be hugely helpful to us going forward.”
The experience James is set to accumulate through this position will also bode well for his future. The 36-year-old star has not shied away from saying he wants to own an NBA team once he’s done playing in the league, so what he learns now could be tools he leverages if he indeed does become an owner in the NBA.
James still recovering from high ankle sprain
While James continues to break barriers off the basketball court, he’s still in the process of returning to on-court action after suffering a high right ankle sprain against the Atlanta Hawks.
The expected timetable for his return is somewhere between 4-6 weeks, and since it’s been just over a week since he got injured, he’s inching closer to returning.
The Lakers are 2-3 in games James didn’t start in, and the way they’ve been playing offensively, they need him back healthy as soon as possible.
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