HBO and LeBron James seem to have a hit on their hands with "The Shop," a new talk show that features the Lakers star and several other athletes in celebrities taking part in "unfiltered conversation and debate" in a barber shop setting. On the premiere episode last night, LeBron was joined by Vince Staples, Snoop Dogg, Odell Beckham Jr., comedian Jon Stewart and others for a wide-ranging discussion that touched on the double standard for black and white athletes, societal issues and more.
In talking about how black and white athletes are viewed differently, LeBron offered the following example.
"If it's (Tom) Brady, if it's (Aaron) Rodgers, if it's (Peyton) Manning. And we're doing the same (expletive), the same exact (expletive)," James said, according to USA Today. "I'm talking about a phone is out. We're like, 'Yo, get that (expletive) phone out of my face. I'm with my family.'
"If we're out with our family and we say that (expletive) and somebody posts it, and if Aaron Rodgers or one of those guys say that (expletive) and they post it, somebody's going to be like, 'Hey, you guys should respect Aaron Rodgers.'"
Also in the premiere episode of "The Shop," LeBron discussed speaking up about social issues and how he plans to continue to do so, regardless of how it effects his popularity.
His comments, according to a transcript by ESPN, include the following:
"I want the satisfaction. Not for myself, but for everybody else. I was raised off of [rappers] Snoop [Dogg] and [Tupac] and [Jay-Z] and Biggie [Smalls], and now I get an opportunity to be the inspiration around what all of these kids are looking up to? And for me to just sit back and not say s--- when a lot of my peers didn't say s---? It didn't feel right," James said on the debut episode of "The Shop," an HBO show featuring an unscripted discussion between James and other athletes and entertainers.
"At the end of the day, when I decided I was going to start speaking up and not giving a f--- about the backlash or if it affects me, my whole mindset was it's not about me," James added. "... My popularity went down. But at the end of the day, my truth to so many different kids and so many different people was broader than me personally."
