The NBA Finals begin on Thursday night as the Los Angeles Lakers take on the Orlando Magic. While I was watching the Cavs vs Magic series, a sad idea began to run through my mind. As the highlights and commercials showed LeBron, Howard, and Kobe, I began to think about the dysfunctional/broken families that have come as a result of poor decisions on the part of NBA players. Here’s what ran through my mind…
LeBron James- Father of 2 children out of wedlock with his current girlfriend
Dwight Howard- Father of 1 child out of wedlock
Kobe Bryant- Highly publicized extramarital affair
Michael Jordan- Had a mistress during his 16 year marriage
Larry Bird- At least 1 illegitimate child
There are even websites on the net that seem to be making a mockery of the situation, by having competitions to see which NBA players can have the most illegitimate children. Sadly, the leader has 9, with many players not too far off.
Speaking anonymously, one NBA player estimated that 50-60% of NBA players have had children out of wedlock.
I don’t have much of a point to this post, other than noting how sad this is. Yes, these players are great athletes and great entertainers, but when it comes down to true values like being leaders of the family and having integrity, true cases of character are hard to find in the NBA.
Hopefully we’ll look elsewhere for our role models.