Simply, LeBron James generates a buzz and commands an audience.
Of late, most of the attention has centered around the NBA Eastern Conference Finals, as James and his Miami Heat are deadlocked with the Boston Celtics. The deciding Game 7 is Saturday.
However, the 2012 league Most Valuable Player also has a particularly loyal following among high school kids nationwide. That's why James is perhaps the ideal athlete to partner with State Farm in its campaign to keep kids in school.
State Farm has developed a program, along with a requisite video and Facebook page (
Facebook.com/26seconds) that stresses the importance of staying in school and completing an education. The Facebook page already has generated nearly 20,000 likes.
According to the video, in which James narrates and appears, a kid drops out of high school every 26 seconds in the United States. That's an astounding figure, to say the least.
From his days as a prep superstar at
St. Vincent-St. Mary (Akron, Ohio), James knows how important high school can be on many levels, and the message is driven home in the video with a glimpse of what life can be like without a high school education.
While many will judge James on whether he gets to the finals and wins an NBA title, we think his assist with this campaign already makes him a winner.