Immoral or justified? The Lebron James Scandal

This month, Lebron James, considered by many to be the greatest basketball player of all time, has become the centerpiece of a scandal that shocked fans nationwide. On September fifth, Lebron James announced the signing of a partnership deal with Polymarket, one of the largest prediction market platforms in the world. 

For those who may not be familiar with prediction markets, these are effectively a betting platform that functions in a format very similar to sports betting. Markets like such allow gamblers to bet on results of sports games and player performances. If these were the limits of these prediction markets, the criticism wouldn't be so harsh, but these markets also allow for very controversial bets to be placed, for example bets on the outcomes of elections, bombings of foreign countries and deaths of world leaders. Many have placed the partnership as a form of support for this unethical betting category, with some claiming it permanently stains Lebron's legacy as an icon of the sport of Basketball.  

The debatable ethics of these platforms however is not the only aspect of the partnership that Lebron James has been criticized for. The world star was the biggest of many athletes who appeared on a recent commercial and is the only to have a confirmed endorsement contract a year. Much criticism has been targeted towards these athletes as in polymarket bets are placed on games they have a large impact over, blurring the lines between insider trading and ethical advertisement. Out of the criticized athletes, Lebron, as the main figure in the campaign, has been the target of the most part of these comments online. 

The main thing that fans have been outwardly upset about with this campaign however is the impact of gambling on the youth. In the US, teenagers and young adults have gambled in increasing amounts, with up to two thirds of 24 year olds partaking in some sort of gambling as reported in a National Library for Medicine (NIH) study by Linda Hollén. This together with the potential harms of gambling has accumulated into vast denunciation from fans and even those immersed in the world of Basketball. Former member of the front office at the Dallas Mavericks Haralabob Voulgaris has been a part of Lebron's critics, claiming “$15m to help get a generation of kids hooked on gambling is a choice. LeShame.”

As a superstar, Lebron has an influence and with that a responsibility around his public actions and what he involves himself with. Personally, I believe that Lebron tying himself to such a harmful industry is a shameful mark in his legacy as an idol of the sport. The superstar disregarded his responsibility as a massive public figure placing his fans in harm's way. 

With Lebron James’ recent partnership in mind, we are faced with the questions of how far celebrities will go for a multimillion dollar brand deal, and who should we really idolize?