LeBron James becomes first professional male athlete to have likeness depicted in a Ken doll
Basketball great LeBron James has become the first professional male athlete to have his likeness depicted in a Ken doll.
Mattel Inc. unveiled the LeBron Ken doll on Wednesday to kick off the toy manufacturer's 'Kenbassador' series. Last year, nine female athlete Barbies, including tennis star Venus Williams, were introduced.
'As a young kid, I was fortunate to have role models who not only inspired me but also showed me what's possible through hard work and dedication,' James said. 'Now, as an adult, I understand how vital it is for young people to have positive figures to look up to. That's why partnering with Barbie to release the LeBron James Kenbassadors doll is such an honor. It's an opportunity to recognize the powerful impact of role models who instill confidence, inspire dreams, and show kids that they, too, can achieve greatness.'
The LeBron doll wears sunglasses, headphones and an unzipped blue-and-white letterman's jacket with 'LJ' on the left breast, his number 23 on the right sleeve and Ohio and crown patches on the other. His first name is on the back with 'Just a kid from Akron' underneath. His T-shirt says 'We Are Family,' a nod to the LeBron James Family Foundation. His blue shoes, of course, are Nikes.
A post shared by Barbie (@barbie) The doll costs $75 and goes on sale Monday.
In an Associated Press-produced video of James seeing the doll for the first time, the 'King' expressed his approval, repeatedly calling the doll 'dope,' another word for 'cool.'
While looking it over, he put an 'I Promise' wristband on the doll's wrist and adjusted the strap on its fanny pack.
'OK, now we ready,' James said. 'I mean, he might need to do a little lifting. Legs look a little skinny. Little fraily little fellow. Nah, that's dope.'
Mattel senior vice president Krista Berger noted that Ken is Barbie's longtime best friend and supporter.
'We are excited to bring fans a new presentation of Ken that celebrates LeBron as a role model, his icon status, lasting impact on culture, and dedication to setting a positive example for the next generation to reach their limitless potential,' Berger said.
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Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Can the Angels' offense be saved? It probably (mostly) depends on Mike Trout
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Read more: Angels can't pull off sweep, striking out 18 times in loss to Mariners Advertisement Finding ways to improve the Angels' productivity at the plate could prove even more daunting. They have the second-most strikeouts (622) and second-fewest walks (163) in MLB. Washington understands it's a problem, but acknowledges the solution isn't easily attainable. 'Adjustments is something in the game of baseball that's never ending, so we just got to keep making adjustments,' Washington said. 'That's it. If I knew, if anybody knew the adjustment to make to get an offense going, you would never see offense putter. That's baseball. You just got to keep adjusting, readjusting, adjusting, readjusting, adjusting, readjusting, adjusting, readjusting.' The Angels held the third-worst batting average (.229) and fourth-worst on-base percentage (.301) in MLB a year ago. Three months into the 2025 season, they've regressed. 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Angels manager Ron Washington talks to Chris Taylor during a win over the Mariners on Friday. (Eric Thayer / Associated Press) In their last two series against Boston and Seattle, there were encouraging signs on offense. The Angels scored five or more runs in four of the six games, and cut down on their strikeout totals, with seven or fewer strikeouts coming in four games. Advertisement Chris Taylor, who struggled at the plate since signing with the team on May 26, began making hard contact — going two for three in two of three games against the Mariners, homering for the first time this season on Saturday. Sunday, however, proved to be much different. In the Angels' 3-2 loss to the Mariners, the lineup struck out a season-high 18 times. 'I think it's kind of just like snapping out of it,' said first baseman Nolan Schanuel on Friday, a day after the Angels returned from a six-game trip in which they averaged more than five runs a game. 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'He's been a huge help to our offensive group, to us as coaches and as well to the players" Get the best, most interesting and strangest stories of the day from the L.A. sports scene and beyond from our newsletter The Sports Report. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Cosmopolitan
4 hours ago
- Cosmopolitan
Meet the Love Island contestants who returned to their day jobs after the villa
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'The people who have recognised me have been very welcoming. It hasn't affected my work – I'm still being treated the same as everybody else, as I should be – but I was nervous going back into dating. I had to be a bit more wary. I've been on dates where people have pretended they don't know who I am, or have said they loved running, when they only said it because I'm really into it. But I have a lovely boyfriend now who didn't watch the show. 'In the villa, I was never going to do anything that was out of my character, and it's the same on social media. It's a reflection of who I am, as a doctor and as a runner. My goal has always been to promote health, and three years down the line, I'm still able to do that." Kai Fagan, now 26, worked as a secondary school teacher before heading into the villa on day one of season nine. During his time at Casa Amor, he met Sanam Harrinanan, and the pair went on to win the show – and the £50,000 prize money – before he pursued a teaching job working with teenagers. 'I was nervous returning to the classroom after being on Love Island. I teach sports science in post-16 education, so, with the age of the students, I knew some of them would have seen the show. I was thinking, 'What are they going to say? Am I going to be able to control the classroom?' But I quickly learned that the kids love it – I'm still respected. Some of them have seen the show and my social media, and actually, it feels like they have a better understanding of me. 'Before Love Island, I was working as a PE teacher when my contract changed, and they wanted me to teach science. I wasn't happy about it, so I handed in my notice and started looking into other jobs. A friend said, 'Why don't you apply for Love Island ?' I did and heard back the same day. It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and it was one of the best experiences. It's obviously where I met Sanam; we now live together and are getting married later this summer – I proposed 13 months after we left the villa. 'When you come out, especially when you win it, you're offered so many opportunities. You have management companies pressuring you to sign up, making you feel like you're going to miss out on things. You're instantly recognisable, and the public think they know you because they've watched you for eight weeks. In the days afterwards, people were jumping out of cars to take pictures of us. We've been on holiday in the most remote places and even then people have asked for photos, which is mad. We're always like, 'Yeah, yeah, yeah'. 'We got the £25k [each] immediately, so money wasn't a stress at the time. 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It's probably only the people who get to the final who can make a career of it, if they want to, full-time. You have to go there for the experience and to meet somebody – if you're going on there for business opportunities, it's not worth it. I love working with young people and I'll always want to work in education in some way.' Sanam Harrinanan, now 26, is a social worker in the process of training to be a theraplay practitioner (a form of therapy that supports children in feeling connected). She won season nine of Love Island alongside Kai Fagan, after joining the villa for Casa Amor. 'After studying for five years, I went straight into social work, looking after people who have been adopted from the care system. I loved it, but felt like, 'What am I doing with my life? I want to do something different.' People kept saying I should go on Love Island, because I'm quite open and chatty, so I applied. 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'When I left for Love Island, I worried about what it would do for my career and people's perceptions of me, but it felt like an opportunity I couldn't miss. Now, if people recognise my name from an email, I respond by saying, 'If this might be an issue for you, let me know and I can inform my manager.' But in most cases, it's a help, not a hindrance. Some of the young people I work with have said, 'Oh my god, you're a celebrity! I can't believe you're my social worker.' You have to go into someone's life and find out everything about their family, and they usually know nothing about you. So when they've watched the show, it means they feel they can open up to me and it builds rapport, especially when they're a teenager. 'I have had people try to take pictures with me, saying, 'Oh, can I just pretend you're my mum's friend?' but for confidentiality reasons, I've had to put boundaries in place. I'm now in the process of training to be a theraplay practitioner, which will take about a year. I plan to stay in social work for as long as I possibly can.' Hair and makeup: Roo Gehring; Set Designer: Sherin Awad; Shoot Producer: Beverley Croucher; Art Director: Alex Hambis
Fox Sports
a day ago
- Fox Sports
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