After LeBron James’ Los Angeles home was vandalized with racist graffiti last week, a Cleveland teacher did her best to counteract the hatred with positivity. Jennifer Pennington, who teaches middle school English and language arts, talked to ESPN about her role putting up half a dozen signs outside James’ house in Cleveland.
Teacher leaves LeBron James positive signs outside his home after racist graffiti incident
The signs were briefly displayed outside James’ house in Cleveland.
“It just seemed like the right thing to do to combat the evil, combat the hate in the world,” Pennington told ESPN. “The first thing that came to mind was, ‘Hero.’”
Pennington put up three double-sided signs listing words she chose to describe James: “Hero,” “Role Model,” “Mentor,” “Humanitarian,” “Leader,” and “Good Samaritan.”
“My heart broke when I saw the N-word posted on [his gate in Los Angeles]. Because that shouldn’t be a word to describe anybody,” Pennington said.
Pennington said she got approval from a security guard at James’ Cleveland home, who said she shouldn’t put them in the yard but was OK with her placing them across the street from the house after reviewing the message.
In the interview, Pennington credited James’ work with the Cleveland school systems and how his foundation is opening an elementary school for at-risk children in 2018 as part of the reason she held James in such high regard. Pennington’s family has ties to James, too, as Pennington’s mother was James’ kindergarten teacher when growing up in Ohio.
