Is Lebron James a national hero?

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superrific

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1. I'd say that anyone who is inarguably among the best who ever played a major sport, perhaps the signature American sport (along with baseball), should be regarded as a hero. Maybe a different sort of hero than General Eisenhower or President Obama, but a hero nonetheless.

2. I'm pretty sure athletes are regarded as heroes in other counties. Jokic is probably Serbia's top national hero, or close to it. Of course, the three most famous Serbs in history (other than him) are known for 1) starting WWI; 2) authoring a genocide; and 3) being a completely insufferable asshole. I suppose you could throw in Nik. Tesla and add a brilliant weirdo to the list.

3. So, I say, yes. National hero. If you were to make a list of 1000 great Americans in history, I'd say he's on it.

Thoughts?
 
This seems to be largely a question of language. The way the word hero is used in our American culture, I would say no. He's a national celebrity for sure. But whatever would qualify him as a national hero would seem to apply equally to other famous performers. And I just don't think that fits with how we use the word.
 
superrific said:
1. I'd say that anyone who is inarguably among the best who ever played a major sport, perhaps the signature American sport (along with baseball), should be regarded as a hero. Maybe a different sort of hero than General Eisenhower or President Obama, but a hero nonetheless.

2. I'm pretty sure athletes are regarded as heroes in other counties. Jokic is probably Serbia's top national hero, or close to it. Of course, the three most famous Serbs in history (other than him) are known for 1) starting WWI; 2) authoring a genocide; and 3) being a completely insufferable asshole. I suppose you could throw in Nik. Tesla and add a brilliant weirdo to the list.

3. So, I say, yes. National hero. If you were to make a list of 1000 great Americans in history, I'd say he's on it.

Thoughts?
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Sure
He also has the most fantastic skill set ever
 
Like Ohtani is a hero in Japan, sure. But that only goes so far.
Now, if he were to catch a baby being tossed out a window of a burning building…
 
Let's define terms a bit.

Like all-time national hero? Like creating a list of the 1000 greatest Americans in our 250 year history?

Or, like top of mind, current culture heroes? Like asking a person off the street to list 1000 American heroes?

Personally I don't think he makes either list, but that's only my personal opinion and I'm happy to let others have whatever else their opinion is.
 
One can be great, but not a hero.

That stated, I would agree that LeBron is a "hero" to many children and no problem with that.

From my adult perspective there is nothing heroic about him, so I recognize his greatness without elevating the overall importance of his skills.
 
Yes, let's define terms.

1. Is Lebron a hero? Well, athletes are often referred to as heroes. It is a matter of everyday language that we see famous athletes and celebrities as "heroes." For good reason: kids and grownups look up to them, follow their every move, follow them on social media, watch them play, root for them, revel in their successes and take sorrow in their failures. I don't know if there's any cogent definition of hero that would exclude them, unless the definition sort of ad hoc excluded them.

2. If athletes can be heroes, then Lebron clearly qualifies. I mean, seriously -- how many of you have, at one point in your life, considered a UNC athlete to be a hero? MJ wasn't a hero? Hans wasn't a hero?

3. But I asked about a "national hero," and I did so on purpose for exactly this reason. Does "national hero" mean something other than "a hero from the nation?"

We can look at presidential medals of freedom as a guide, perhaps. Forget Trump's idiocy; let's look at the people who received it from Obama. That list includes Dean Smith (I didn't know this), MJ, Kareem, Willie Mays, Yogi Berra, etc. You could make an argument that Dean could have deserved the medal for off-court achievements primarily, but not the others. They were great athletes.

Now maybe presidential medals aren't the best measure. Maybe they are feel-good nostalgia moments, like a lesser knighthood in England or whatever they call those things. You know, you have a platinum album and suddenly you're Sir or Dame so-and-so. Or maybe they are significant, but not in a way that elevates them to "national hero."

4. What about intellectuals? Toni Morrison? American hero? James Baldwin? TS Eliot? Martin Scorsese? What is the difference? If they are not national heroes, who is? MLK and war heroes, basically? Presidents?

What about Thomas Edison? He was motivated by profit. He wanted to (and I believe did) become very rich with his inventions. Does the profit motive kill the heroism status? Does it save him if he had a mixed motive (i.e. make tons of money on light bulbs and also help cities be less dark and thus safer at night). What about wealthy philanthropists, like Bill Gates or Rockefeller?
 
superrific said:
1. I'd say that anyone who is inarguably among the best who ever played a major sport, perhaps the signature American sport (along with baseball), should be regarded as a hero. Maybe a different sort of hero than General Eisenhower or President Obama, but a hero nonetheless.

2. I'm pretty sure athletes are regarded as heroes in other counties. Jokic is probably Serbia's top national hero, or close to it. Of course, the three most famous Serbs in history (other than him) are known for 1) starting WWI; 2) authoring a genocide; and 3) being a completely insufferable asshole. I suppose you could throw in Nik. Tesla and add a brilliant weirdo to the list.

3. So, I say, yes. National hero. If you were to make a list of 1000 great Americans in history, I'd say he's on it.

Thoughts?
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Just a nit, but I'd guess Jokic isn't even Serbia's top national sporting hero. As good as he is, Djokovic is/was far better in his domain. Unless he is the insufferable asshole you are referring to, which would a bit strong even for people who don't like the Joker.
 
Gmonet said:
Just a nit, but I'd guess Jokic isn't even Serbia's top national sporting hero. As good as he is, Djokovic is/was far better in his domain. Unless he is the insufferable asshole you are referring to, which would a bit strong even for people who don't like the Joker.
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Yes, he is that insufferable asshole.
 
Ok. I thought the anti-vax stuff was stupid (and may wind up costing him the all-time slam record depending on what Alcaraz does), but overall I don't think he's a bad dude. I would bet a large sum of money he is far more of a 'hero' in Serbia than Jokic. And I love Jokic.
 
Gmonet said:
Ok. I thought the anti-vax stuff was stupid (and may wind up costing him the all-time slam record depending on what Alcaraz does), but overall I don't think he's a bad dude. I would bet a large sum of money he is far more of a 'hero' in Serbia than Jokic. And I love Jokic.
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Fine, but that doesn't change the point of the thread, given that they are both athletes.
 
ZenMode said:
Agree. He plays a sport for a living. Nothing, IMO, heroic about that.
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Plenty of people who play sports for a living have been heroes. I'm not sure I would use that word to apply to Lebron, but it's not because athletes can't be heroes.

I would certainly say Lebron is a great American cultural ambassador. Like MJ was. And MJ was way more of an asshole than Lebron sometimes, lol.
 
Gmonet said:
Just a nit, but I'd guess Jokic isn't even Serbia's top national sporting hero. As good as he is, Djokovic is/was far better in his domain. Unless he is the insufferable asshole you are referring to, which would a bit strong even for people who don't like the Joker.
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Opinions vary on Djokovic but "insufferable asshole" is within the range of reasonable opinions about him. Maybe a little stronger than I would say it, but not unreasonable.
 
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