LeBron James recently spoke about the old, common belief that it’s wrong for a man to cry, especially in sports.
It was something that James touched on in a Sports Illustrated article, in which he said there’s nothing wrong with a man shedding tears if he needs to release.
In the piece, the journalist, as well as James, referenced Kobe Bryant, who died in a helicopter crash with his daughter and seven others on Jan. 26.
“Men should be emotional when something hits your heart,” said James. “When something feels a certain way, there’s no reason you shouldn’t be emotional about it. The emotion comes from, especially in this instance, somebody who has paved the way and done so many great things in our sport.”
Danny Green, James’ Los Angeles Lakers teammate, also talked about men crying in the article, and how it’s perceived these days compared to yesteryear.
According to Green, the image of NBA players seen shedding tears in recent years has changed negative opinions about it.
“When I was younger, during those days, it was not cool to show emotions,” Green explained. “It’s not manly, I guess. But now it’s a different time, a different generation. It’s okay to show emotions. It doesn’t make you any less of a man, less masculine or uncool.”
“When you see the top people that you look up to, the top superstars showing their emotions, it shows kids it’s okay to let some things out and show emotions,” added Green.
Other Lakers also talked about letting go of the idea that a man crying shows weakness. They include Quinn Cook and Avery Bradley, who says he has no problem letting the tears flow.
“If I needed to cry, I needed to cry,” Bradley admitted. “To this day, sometimes I might watch a little Disney movie and it will probably make me cry. I don’t really care.”