LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Akron’s best-known native responded to President Donald Trump’s attack on his Ohio hometown’s iconic company, offering a shout-out of solidarity with the city, company and workers.
“Not only has Goodyear been great for my city, for the history of my city, but for the country,” LeBron James told reporters in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, where the NBA is playing during the pandemic. “Unbelievable brand and unbelievable history. So, we stand strong, we always unite, especially my city.”
James, who led the Cleveland Cavaliers to their only NBA title during his second stint with the team, has been a steadfast supporter of community improvement projects in Akron. He jumped directly into the NBA from his state-champion St. Vincent-St. Mary’s High School team in Akron.
Now with the Los Angeles Lakers, James commented Thursday night, a day after Trump called for a boycott of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., which employs more than 3,000 people. Trump inaccurately said the company had “announced a ban” on “Make America Great Again” caps. Leaders of the city of fewer than 200,000 people are worried that a boycott would worsen the struggling economy
“We’ve always felt like we’ve been counted out, being a small city,” James said. “And that’s what rallies us even more. It makes us even stronger.”
Download the News 5 Cleveland app now for more stories from us, plus alerts on major news, the latest weather forecast, traffic information and much more. Download now on your Apple device here, and your Android device here.
You can also catch News 5 Cleveland on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, YouTube TV, DIRECTV NOW, Hulu Live and more. We're also on Amazon Alexa devices. Learn more about our streaming options here.
