Could LeBron James play another sport in college? And would it be for Ohio State football?
To start the 2022 college football season, the Ohio State Buckeyes played Notre Dame in showdown of two top-five teams at the time.
And on the sidelines was one of the biggest sports stars in the world in Ohio State Buckeye superfan LeBron James. The Akron native and current star of the Los Angeles Lakers attended the game with his son Bronny James, who is considering playing basketball for Ohio State.
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As Ohio State, now 3-0 on season, was preparing to play Wisconsin in the 2022 Big Ten opener, James asked on Twitter if he still had college eligibility if he wanted to play another sport.
Do I have college eligibility if I went to play another sport besides basketball? How does that rule work?
— LeBron James (@KingJames) September 24, 2022
James was once a talented football player at Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary before he decided to focus on basketball. James was on the cover of Sports Illustrated in high school and went on to be the No.1 player taken in the NBA draft in 2003.
He's gone on to have one of the greatest careers in basketball and sports history. But could he play football (or any other sport) in college?
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Does LeBron James still have college eligibility?
Perhaps the best case to look at is by James' former teammate J.R. Smith, who played 16 season in the NBA. Smith retired and decided he wanted to play golf at North Carolina A&T. Smith was ruled eligible to play despite his professional career as a basketball player.
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Because Smith had not gone pro in golf, he was eligible, according to the NCAA.
So the answer to James' question could be: Probably.
Would Lebron James play at Ohio State?
Well, the legend was always that had James needed to go to college, he would have selected Ohio State. And just this week, James gave the Ohio State football team headphones.
Ohio State football's 2022 schedule
Week 1: Ohio State 21, Notre Dame 10
Week 2: Ohio State 45, Arkansas State 12
Week 3: Ohio State 77, Toledo 21
Week 6:Ohio State vs. Michigan State, Oct. 8, East Lansing, Mich.
Week 8:Ohio State vs. Penn State, Oct. 29, State College, Pa.
Week 11: Ohio State vs. Maryland, Nov. 19, College Park, MD.
Week 12: Ohio State vs. Michigan, at noon Nov. 26, Columbus, Ohio
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Could LeBron James still play football at Ohio State?
