LeBron James is arguably the greatest basketball player of all time, but his influences and power off the court are also among the greatest in sports history.
His agent and longtime friend, Rich Paul, leads that influence. Together, Paul and James have empowered NBA players more than ever over the past decade, challenging management and expanding their earning power, most often through Paul’s agency, Klutch Sports Group. .
But Paul had a rocky road to the top of the sports agency mountain, which he details in his new book he’s currently on a press tour called “Lucky Me: A Memoir of Changing the Odds.”
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And in an interview on ‘First Take’ with Stephen A. Smith, Molly Qerim and Shannon Sharpe on October 10, Paul said one of the things he had to navigate in the sports agent industry was seeing a different side of the people I knew. he had admired because of a fierce atmosphere.
“I used to have a deep respect for those in my field. I’ve lost that respect for many of them,” Paul said. “Just the lack of integrity, the lack of professionalism, the way they do things… When I look at the landscape today, I just don’t see the polish that I got in my community, that everywhere I went, someone was polishing.” my knife.”
Paul said he never felt helped by any other black officers in the field. Instead, he felt that people were excluding him, even belittling him because of his ties to James.
“No black agent came to me and said, ‘Rich, let me help you, let me show you, let me help you understand.’ What they did was they went into families and talked bad about me… ‘He’s just a friend of LeBron. When LeBron’s done, he’s done.'”
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Paul said he ultimately wants to change this for the next generation of officers like him.
“For me, I’m not going to do to others what they did to me. I’m paying for it, so I’m giving the game away,” Paul said.
"No black agent came to me and said, ‘Rich, let me help you, let me show you, let me help you understand.’ What they did was enter families and speak badly about me. …’He’s just LeBron’s friend. … When LeBron is done, he’s done.”" – @RicoPaul4 pic.twitter.com/lwx9Ae2l92
– First Take (@FirstTake) October 10, 2023
Paul was also the subject of a ’60 Minutes’ documentary, which highlighted contracts worth more than $4 billion he negotiated for professional athletes such as James, Draymond Green, Anthony Davis and Jalen Hurts. But Paul said he has received criticism for his success and that race has played a role.
“When it was someone who didn’t look like me, it was great. That’s why you got a powerful agent. But when it’s me, I’m destroying the league. Those things are absurd,” Paul said.
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