Beyond the World Series and Bronny, the enduring love of fathers and sons
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Ken Makin Cultural commentator
The city of Los Angeles has many marquee names – Tinseltown, La La Land, the City of Angels. Thanks to a pair of iconic moments over the past week from historic sports franchises, the Dodgers and the Lakers, Los Angeles might add a new nickname to its lore – the father ’hood.
As the Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman blasted the first walk off grand slam in World Series history to end Game 1, he rounded the bases, celebrated with his teammates, then found his father, Fred. The elder Freeman pressed his hands onto the safety net, and the younger did the same, and the binding between them made the moment no less tangible.
“This isn’t my moment, that’s my dad’s moment,” Freeman said in a postgame press conference. “My approach is because of him. I am who I am because of him.”
Why We Wrote This
The beautiful thing about the full-circle moments experienced this week by sports stars Freddie Freeman and LeBron James is what’s at the center of them, writes the Monitor’s cultural commentator – pure and abiding love.
The same might have been said a few days later, when LeBron James Jr., better known as Bronny, scored his first NBA points in the arena that his father, “King James,” essentially built. With just over two minutes left in the fourth quarter of Wednesday’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Bronny dribbled toward the baseline, then backed out, steadied himself, and knocked down a smooth jumpshot. The crowd erupted.
“To see him get his first NBA basket in this arena, where he grew up not too far away from here, that’s an unbelievable moment,” LeBron James said. “Unbelievable moment for him, and for our family it’s just pretty cool to be a part of it.”
“It was insane,” Bronny James added. “Much more than I anticipated for sure. It’s all love. It was a nice moment. The chants really got me. I was straight faced, but I felt it and it felt pretty good, especially coming from here.”
Being a father of two young boys, the accomplishments and the adversity surrounding the Freemans and Jameses resonate with me. In 2023, I watched LeBron James coach a Nike prep team of high school stars, seemingly with the world on a string. Only a few weeks later, in a stunning scare, Bronny James suffered a sudden cardiac arrest. He made a full recovery and made his college debut four months later.
Back in August, a press conference with Freeman left my heart in my stomach. He discussed his leave of absence from the Dodgers due to his son being diagnosed with Guillain-Barré Syndrome, a rare neurological disorder. “Seeing one of your kids, on a ventilator, fighting,” Freeman said, before he burst into tears.
When he was 12 years old, he drove his father to the hospital after a medical event, a few years after his mother died of cancer. As it turned out, that hospital visit saved the elder Freeman’s life.
“The doctor comes in the room, and I’m with my dad. And he goes, Mr. Freeman, you’re lucky you came to the hospital tonight. If you didn’t come in and would have gone to sleep, you would have most likely died in your sleep,” Freddie Freeman said. “I could have been parentless at 12 years old.”
Fatherhood can feel paradoxical at times, simultaneously being a son and a caretaker. I can share from experience that it feels surreal at times looking after my children and my father, who obviously is protective of me as well. Antiquated notions of manhood and patriarchy might suggest that professionalism is secondary to expression and authenticity. Freeman’s joy and pain, along with LeBron’s savviness and protectiveness of his own children, are exemplary.
The beautiful thing about the full-circle moments experienced by these sports stars is what’s at the center of them – pure and abiding love. Freeman, who broke a consecutive home run record in these World Series, ultimately won series MVP. With James’ jumpshot, LeBron James Sr. and Jr. are the top scoring father-son pair in NBA history. And yet, those accomplishments seem to pale in comparison to the Freemans’ and Jameses’ sense of fatherhood.
“Behold something greater than yourself,” is how the famous line reads in “Roots.” It is a refreshing perspective, one that goes beyond the mundane rhetoric of responsibility and adds humanity and purpose to what it means to be a father.
Of course, the story wouldn’t be complete without finding out what happened to Freeman’s grand slam ball. It landed in front of a kid who was supposed to go to the dentist, but his dad had a better idea – going to the World Series. The Rudermans – Nico, the father, and Zachary, his son, retrieved the ball. Zach’s favorite player? You guessed it. Freddie Freeman.
