Athlete empowerment via NIL is dominant theme at LeBron James' Uninterrupted film festival

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — Days before SEC commissioner Greg Sankey called for federal regulation on name, image and likeness, a group of star athletes touted the importance of NIL and what it means for their empowerment as entrepreneurs and voices in the larger sports media landscape.

And backing their voices was LeBron James and his production company.

Uninterrupted, a brand within James’ and business partner Maverick Carter’s SpringHill Company, launched the inaugural Uninterrupted Film Festival in partnership with Tribeca on Thursday at NeueHouse Hollywood. The festival premiered two films: "GOLIATH," a three-part documentary that details the life of Wilt Chamberlain. Also premiering was “Black Ice,” a documentary that told the history of racism in hockey, from the perspectives of Black hockey players past and present.

In between screenings, the festival featured panel events covering a range of topics such as NIL and the importance of storytelling by athletes. The festival concluded with a live taping of "The Draymond Green Show," featuring Green and the Atlanta Hawks’ Trae Young.

Watching from the upper level was none other than James, who made a brief appearance on the blue carpet, and then watched Green’s show along with Carter, and his agent, Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul.

One of the panels titled “State of the Game: Next Gen,” explored the new landscape of NIL for up-and-coming athletes. The panel was moderated by New York Giants linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux, and featured three USC phenoms, women’s basketball player Juju Watkins, and USC football’s Ceyair Wright, and Malachi Nelson.

The panel discussed how some of the higher-profile players are navigating NIL.

Wright is a junior defensive back at USC and a Los Angeles native. He has a flourishing acting career. Wright played a large role in “Space Jam: A New Legacy,” as LeBron James’ son, and also is a recurring character on ABC’s “Grown-ish.”

He detailed the difficulties of juggling his acting and football careers, while also being a full-time student, and handling his brand and NIL deals.

“When I came into college I didn’t want to dive too much into [NIL], because I felt like I had to put myself first," Wright said. “I also had already acted prior to getting into college and being recruited. People looked at me and were like, ‘Oh, well, you don't really focus on football. You don't really care about football.' And that was even something I faced when I got to USC when our coaching staff changed. The new coaching staff were kind of hesitant to put me in the game and play me because they were like, 'I don't know if he really, really wants to do this.' And so it's a lot of work to change that perspective.”

Watkins was born and raised in Watts, where she was a basketball phenom. Watkins attended high school powerhouse Sierra Canyon where she won the state championship, and was named Gatorade’s Girls Basketball Player of the Year. Watkins also won two gold medals with the Team USA U-17 squad. She was the No. 1 recruit in her class, and decided to stay close to home and play collegiate basketball with USC, along with another Sierra Canyon superstar, Bronny James.

Watkins has prioritized patience with her NIL journey, and looks to make deals that align with herself and her values. She wants to take advantage of NIL to not only benefit herself and her family, but also her community.

“I did a partnership with this brand called Ready Life,” Watkins said. “They give mortgages to families with low credit scores, which is great for my community because we have a lot of families who don't have a lot of money, but it's still important that they can own property and have somewhere to live.

“I think that throughout my journey I've always tried to go back to my roots. I think that always with whatever I do, I want to make sure that I am giving back to my community. I'm always reppin’ where I come from, because that's important to me and something that I hold very close to my heart. So no matter how far I go, I feel like I always want to preach the importance of community, family and just being yourself.”

Empowerment was the dominant theme of the festival, and it encompassed involvement in media. Carter, the CEO of SpringHill Company, spoke about its importance for athletes, and his role in pushing a new wave of player-led media.

“I love working with athletes and I love stories,” Carter said. “So bringing those two things together, I think it's the culmination of my career, but more importantly, we're very fortunate to get to work with amazing athletes. Athletes from all over the world, but someone like Joel Embiid or Naomi Osaka, we’re just extremely grateful and fortunate. And the idea and the heart of the company was always about empowering athletes and building a brand. It was really about telling stories through the lens of empowerment and I think being a part of that is just a dream come true to me and I wake up every day, excited and ready to go after it and tell amazing stories.”

Embiid was in attendance, promoting his production studio Miniature Géant, in a panel discussion with Carter.

Though there has been an emergence of player-led media such as Green’s show, JJ Redick’s podcast, Paul George starting his own show and many other players who have begun their career in media, there is belief there is still a space and appetite for “traditional media.” The two intersect in a way that allows both to feed off one another.

“I think [both media areas] are fantastic,” Carter said. “I think athletes being a part of the storytelling ecosystem that also journalists are a part of, run parallel. I think they will forever. I think it's never gonna go away. I also think traditional sports media is needed.

“Ultimately, as a sports fan, myself and growing up a sports fan. I wish I had this when I was a kid, right? I wanted to hear from Jerry Rice and Deion Sanders and Michael Jordan. So I love it. I think it's here to stay and I think they complement each other very well.”