LeBron Cited As An Example Of How Millennials Are Less About Self Promotion

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Complex Original

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New York Times feature


Exhibit A may be LeBron James, the N.B.A. superstar who in July announced that he would be going back to rust-belt Cleveland after four glamorous years in Miami, becoming, at age 29, one of America?s wealthiest boomerang children.


?Miami, for me, has been almost like college for other kids,? James explained in a?statement?on SI.com exuding millennial earnestness. ?My relationship with Northeast Ohio is bigger than basketball. I didn?t realize that four years ago. I do now.?


Four years ago, he meant, when he seemed the picture of self-importance, proclaiming on a live ESPN spectacle that he would ?take my talents to South Beach.?


But James didn?t develop his new vocabulary of civic obligation and social responsibility overnight. On the contrary, he was a model teammate in Miami, insistently deflecting praise to others. He also helped lead the campaign to hold the former Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling accountable for racially charged blurtings when they became public last spring.


Tellingly, James reacted forcefully on Twitter. In common with other millennials, he has made social media, with its many opportunities for ?oversharing? self-display, a means of communication that pushes outward, instead of turning inward.

Follow me on Twitter @steven_lebron

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