(ThyBlackMan.com) Two of the most well-known figures in California are UCLA women’s basketball head coach Cori Close and Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James. Close just led her Bruins team to its first NCAA women’s basketball national championship in program history following a 2025-2026 women’s college basketball season in which they lost only one game. James, arguably the most famous active athlete on the planet, has to pick up more offensive responsibility for the Lakers following injuries to key players Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.
Lebron also recently set the record for most games played in NBA history. Both Close and James have made recently headlines for their work on the court but also through their words they show they struggle to understand “regular people”.
Over the past half-decade, Name, Image, and Likeness, aka NIL, and the transfer portal has changed college sports in a major way. Those changes have made the responsibilities of coaches like Cori Close increased. During her team’s road to the NCAA women’s basketball national championship, Close discussed the challenges saying, “I’ve never been as tired as I’ve been in the last two years, and it’s made me think how much longer I can do this. And I’m just being transparent with you about that. There are so many things that are harder, and we keep losing incredible people on the men’s and the women’s side.” Close has been the head coach of the UCLA women’s team for 15 years so she has seen the changes in not only women’s college basketball but college sports as well. It is also worth noting that she also made reportedly close to $900,000 in salary in her position which is lower than her fellow Final Four peers as head coaches but certainly a livable wage even in Los Angeles.
College head coaches who complain about NIL and transfer portal are certainly inadvertently complaining about the power that the newfound power that the collegiate athletes have in this new era. Today’s college athletes have more power than any generation and that ranks a lot of college coaches that had all the leverage as it relates to retaining players and making decisions on the careers of collegiate athletes. It is notable that Close’s words about being a college basketball head coach were not shared by some of her colleagues such as Louisville’s Jeff Walz, who stated, “My favorite line, I would tell her, if you don’t like your job, find a new job. I mean, I’m listening this morning at 4:20 as the workers outside my window at the hotel in the street are working. I mean, you choose your profession. If you don’t like it, find a new profession.” Also, fellow competitor South Carolina’s Dawn Staley said, “I welcome change. I like challenges. I like to figure out things and still find a way to be successful. I think when that leaves me, then I know it’s time for me to move on.”
LeBron James famously was drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers as the “savior” of the team closest to his hometown of Akron. He apparently would not have wanted to be drafted by the Memphis Grizzlies when he entered the NBA in 2023. In the interview with Bob Does Sports, James joked that a star athlete his age would not be staying at the Hyatt in Memphis and he feels that the Memphis Grizzlies team should relocate to Nashville. James’s issues as an NBA player playing in Memphis are a true example of an “out of touch” professional athlete complaining about situations that the average person doesn’t have to encounter. It is noteworthy that James’s comments were made on the golf course and are an example that he has been a multi-millionaire longer in his life than he hasn’t been even though he grew up in humble financial circumstances as the son of a single mother. Sports figures like Cori Close and LeBron James need to have some humility when they complain about aspects of their jobs to better understand the challenges that everyday people face.
Staff Writer; Mark Hines
