LeBron James says it's important for men to cry and 'be emotional'

Sergio Estrada/USA TODAY Sports

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James.

• LeBron James said "men should be emotional" while speaking about tearing up on live TV after Kobe Bryant's death.
• "When something feels a certain way, there's no reason you shouldn't be emotional about it," he told Sports Illustrated.
• James wasn't the only athlete to get emotional after Bryant's death. Michael Jordan even joked he'd be turned into another meme because of his tears.
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In the wake of Lakers icon Kobe Bryant's death, LeBron James is encouraging men to show their emotions.

James opened up about his emotions in an interview with Sports Illustrated, where he spoke about tearing up on live TV as Boyz II Men sang the national anthem at the Lakers' first game after Bryant and his daughter Gianna were killed in a helicopter crash in January.

"Men should be emotional when something hits your heart," James told Sports Illustrated. "When something feels a certain way, there's no reason you shouldn't be emotional about it. The emotion comes from, especially in this instance, somebody who has paved the way and done so many great things in our sport."

He wasn't the only athlete to get emotional after Bryant's death. The tragedy sent shockwaves through the NBA and beyond, and Michael Jordan even joked about his tears while speaking at a memorial for Bryant and Gianna on February 24.

James has been vocal about showing his emotions for years. In a 2017 podcast, James told listeners that "real men cry," and said he cried while watching "The Lion King" and an episode of "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" when Will Smith's father left him behind.

"Every single time, I shed a tear," James told "Road Trippin'" of the Fresh Prince episode. "It could come from obviously me being part of a single-parent household and never seeing my father and things growing up when I was a kid, but it's just an emotional part."

• Read more:
• 'Stop playing': LeBron James initially thought his Lakers teammates were joking when they told him Kobe Bryant had died
• LeBron James ate candy on the bench after a dominant performance and sparked a Twitter debate about Twizzlers vs Red Vines
• LeBron James put up 40 points to outscore Zion Williamson in their first NBA meeting, then described the 19-year-old as a 'special' talent
• LeBron James wants people to stop asking him about Kobe Bryant's death, because he and Bryant's family are 'trying to move on'

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