LeBron James Will Host Prime-Time TV Graduation Ceremony for High School Seniors

LeBron James is proving he is more than a king on the basketball court even though the NBA is shut down during the pandemic. Nonetheless, James will host a prime-time TV graduation ceremony for high school seniors Saturday, 8 PM ET.

The class of 2020 will forever be remembered as the group of graduates without standard high school graduation ceremonies naturally because of public health concerns due to the coronavirus outbreak.

SpringHill Entertainment (James’ company) announced “Graduate Together,” which is an event that will honor the graduates of 2020. The hour-long commercial-free event will air on ABC, NBC, FOX, and CBS. It will also stream on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and other platforms.

“We learned early on in our work with students and families in Akron that education is so much more than academics,” James said in a statement. “It’s about a shared experience, a journey we’re all on together — students, parents, educators, community members, and everyone around them. With that not being possible right now, we’ve been working to find ways to help families get through this really difficult time.”

Students can participate in the ceremony by uploading photos of themselves to be used in a digital yearbook. Other items such as superlatives, teacher thank-yous, and school spirited videos can also be included. Even better is an opportunity for five seniors to win $5000 for submitting graduation speeches.

“These students have worked incredibly hard for this and there’s no way we can let that go unrecognized,” James said. “While this won’t be the graduation experience they were supposed to get, we hope we can still give them something special because they deserve it.”

Despite the challenging times since the pandemic, the James hosted graduation may prove to be more popular than one’s typical ceremony with Malala Yousafzai, the Jonas Brothers, Yara Shahidi, H.E.R., Bad Bunny, Pharrell Williams, Lena Waithe, and Megan Rapinoe said to make appearances.

James is not a stranger to kids and education. He opened “I Promise” school in 2018 for at-risk youth in his hometown of Akron, Ohio. The school provides free breakfast and lunch, a food pantry, and those who graduate are guaranteed tuition to attend the University of Akron.