LeBron opens up about his vision for the future of golf and his mission to make the sport more accessible to kids from underserved communities.
LeBron James is not playing golf just for fun.
As the NBA superstar enters the next phase of his career, he sees the sport as more than a hobby; he sees an opportunity to create meaningful change. During a conversation with Rich Kleiman at CNBC x Boardroom’s Game Plan at Fanatics Fest, James opened up about his ambitions for golf and how the sport could become a bigger part of his business and philanthropic legacy.
“You’re very smart, by the way. You very smart. You know I’m not just playing it just for fun,” James said in the latest episode of Boardroom Talks when Kleiman asked what the bigger play is when it comes to golf.
While James has embraced golf alongside friends and fellow athletes, his interest in the sport goes well beyond spending time on the course. His larger goal is to help make golf more accessible to young people who have traditionally been left out of the game.
“One of my main goals in not only of playing the game of golf with my friends and we have a great time, we go out there and mess around, but I want to be able to, and my goal is to open doors for kids that look like me growing up in the inner city, to be able to go to country clubs at seven, eight, nine years old and be able to go out and caddy or be able to go out and rent clubs and be able to be coached and play the game of golf,” James said.
For James, the issue is not necessarily whether young people can afford to play. It is whether they have the opportunity to discover the sport in the first place.
“And it’s not because they can’t afford it. It’s because they have a passion of wanting to play that sport,” he added.
That vision could ultimately become a major part of James’ next chapter. As one of the most influential athletes and businessmen of his generation, James has the platform to help bring new audiences into golf, and potentially reshape how the sport introduces itself to the next generation.
“This is one of my passions. That’s one of my goals,” James said. “I will do it for sure.”
Ultimately, James sees the future of golf as more than simply growing the game. He wants to help open the doors wider.
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