“Mom Didn’t Allow That”: Bronny Claims Savannah James Never Let Him Play Football As A Kid

LeBron James’ eldest son Bronny is following in his father’s footsteps and hoping to hear his name called on the night of the 2024 NBA Draft. While he has been pursuing his NBA dream since he was a child, like his father, he wasn’t allowed to be a two-sport sensation like James was in high school. Revealing why in an interview with Sirius XM, Bronny revealed that his mother Savannah forbade him from even considering football as a career,

“I played other sports [growing up, like] soccer. [I] wasn’t allowed to play football, my mom didn’t allow that. So, I’ve always been a sports guy, but basketball was my cup of tea.”

“It’s tough. A lot of criticism gets thrown my way”

Bronny James explains what it’s like being the son of an all-time great@RobbieHummel | @BronnyJamesJr pic.twitter.com/DOsUpLSaIa

— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) May 20, 2024

Bronny, like his father, has been blessed with elite athleticism. He stands at over six feet and weighs almost 220 points, clearly boasting the physical tools required to be an elite wide receiver or defensive back.

His father used his incredible genetics to play high school football for two seasons at St. Vincent – St. Mary, racking up 103 catches for 2,065 receiving yards and 23 touchdowns. As a junior, he was Ohio’s best high school prospect, even earning comparisons to Pro Football Hall of Famer Randy Moss at the time.

However, while this is logistically great, it is hard to blame Savannah James for stopping her son from football. After all, given how physically taxing and even dangerous the sport can be, no mother would want to think about the kind of damage their child would have to go through as a professional.

In fact, it isn’t just Savannah who feels this way. As it turns out, LeBron James seems to have a strict policy against the sport as well.

LeBron James also stopped his sons from playing football

Savannah James wasn’t alone in stopping her sons Bronny and Bryce from playing football. In an interview with ESPN in 2014, LeBron James admitted that while he wouldn’t push his sons to focus solely on basketball, he wouldn’t let them play football either. He said,

“”Only basketball, baseball and soccer are allowed in my house… We don’t want them to play in our household right now until they understand how physical and how demanding the game is. Then they can have their choice in high school, we’ll talk over it.”

James, like most parents who forbid their kids from playing football, was concerned about Bronny and Bryce’s health. Football is an inherently violent sport, which the four-time MVP learned firsthand when he broke his wrist as a high school junior, ending his desire to play the sport and prompting him to focus on basketball instead.

While the NFL is America’s #1 pass-time, no player with a lengthy career escapes suffering some form of permanent damage to their body. Few other sports are as dangerous as football and it’s understandable why parents like Savannah and LeBron James just don’t want to see their kids in a football jersey.

Hopefully, it’s one that both Bronny and Bryce James understand and appreciate.