The cynic in me was thinking the same thing. There's going to have to be a change of thinking with a lot of folks as well - that bike may represent $20 worth of scrap metal, $20 in a pocket now that might pay for food, necessities, habits. And that program could quickly turn dark. Anecdotally, a close friend of mine operated a pawn shop in a downtrodden area of Detroit and would frequently comment on how many brand new bikes were walked through the door, for which they paid very little.

Getting some folks to realize that it's providing freedom rather than fast cash is going to be an accomplishment. Perhaps this will even produce a positive cultural shift.

That is were it is useful to have LeBron as the face of the program. To the kids, and families these aren't nebulously owned government bikes, these are LeBron's bikes.

The food bank should help with that. And the other social services.