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Unguarded with Rachel Nichols

LeBron James on His Life, Career and Returning to Ohio; Serena Williams on Her Incredible Year

Aired October 17, 2014 - 22:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Tonight on UNGUARDED WITH RACHEL NICHOLS, LeBron James opens up about his drastic weight loss, being a celebrity father, and what made him decide to leave a warm paradise and return to his roots in the Rust Belt.

LEBRON JAMES, BASKETBALL STAR: Why would he leave she Florida to go back to the cold of Ohio?

ANNOUNCER: Tennis superstar Serena Williams discusses just how she stayed so good for so long.

SERENA WILLIAMS, TENNIS PRO: Train for 30-something years is definitely not easy. And it's a choice. Either you choose to do it or you don't.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RACHEL NICHOLS, HOST: Welcome to UNGUARDED. The former Miami house of superstar LeBron James went on the market recently. And the $17 million listing describes an elevator, an infinity pool, personal theater and a yacht dock. But it's not the details that have so many buzzing. It's that the house is for sale at all. Further confirmation that LeBron is really, truly, back in Ohio to stay.

Now for those who don't understand why you'd ever leave a house with a yacht dock, well, next Friday night, CNN will air the documentary "More Than a Game." The movie chronicles James' high school years and further captures his love affair with the place he grew up. We spoke to him about that and everything else.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICHOLS: We're about to air the documentary "More Than a Game" here on CNN. And it is a pretty amazing look at you in high school. All this great footage of you when you were just on the cusp of what you are today.

What's it like for you, first of all, to look at that video right now?

JAMES: I was on the super, super duper diet then.

NICHOLS: Scrawny little kid. Scrawny, well, you were never little, by the way. But you were not as built as you are now. JAMES: I wasn't, right. But to look at it today, just, wow, it's

like -- I would never want any -- no kids to have to go through what we as a group went through on a national scale.

Flying to Los Angeles for basketball games, to North Carolina. We're playing in tournaments all over. You know, and it never got to us.

NICHOLS: People who know you only now as the famous basketball player, what's the thing that they're going to learn the most about you from watching that documentary?

JAMES: They'll say he's a loyal guy, to my friends, to my city, to people that I care for. Understand that I don't do what I do just because of, you know, I hold that responsibility very high. Even when I was a teenager.

NICHOLS: Maybe give some insight on why you have returned to the area of Cleveland.

JAMES: Maybe. Maybe. Yes. For the people that don't quite know. Why would he leave she Florida to go back to the cold of Ohio? The documentary will give you some insight.

I love you. I'm back.

NICHOLS: Did you know this was going to happen?

JAMES: No, I didn't. I had dreams about going back home, but I thought it would happen a lot later on in my career. Going back and kind of, you know, having a couple more years left on my career and kind of finish it off that way. But I didn't think it would happen this -- this soon.

NICHOLS: There is some damage from the time that you left before. The fans burning your jersey. You seemed to repair that over the years before you even left Miami.

But that letter from Dan Gilbert was what stuck with a lot of people. And for people who don't remember at the time, the Cavaliers owner wrote about your, quote, "cowardly betrayal" and your "shocking act of disloyalty." What were the hard parts of getting past that for you and for your family?

JAMES: Well, I think, you know, ultimately in order for me to ultimately make the decision to come back, I needed to sit down with Dan, face to face, man-to-man.

NICHOLS: He came done to visit you in Miami during your free agency period, and he said at that point you two hadn't spoken in four years. So what was that conversation like?

JAMES: Well, you know, it was a straightforward conversation. There was no beating around the bush. He basically said, you know, no matter what decision you make, he wanted to clear the air. And to where we can see each other in public or we see each other wherever. I'm competing against you. We can always shake each other's hands and look at the fun times that we had in Cleveland while we were together instead of focusing on the one night that kind of, you know, everyone kind of focuses on.

NICHOLS: You've already been putting in a lot of work to try to make this season successful. Been on a pretty strict diet, I understand. You look lighter. I mean, how much -- how much weight did you lose?

JAMES: I lost a few pounds. I lost -- I haven't been in this weight class.

NICHOLS: Give me a ballpark?

JAMES: I'm in the 250-ish range. You know, a lot lighter than I've been playing at in the last few years. But I feel good.

NICHOLS: The diet was strict. Right?

JAMES: Very strict, 67 days.

NICHOLS: And what did you eat or not eat?

JAMES: I'll tell you what I couldn't have. No carbs, no sugar, no dairy, no refined sugar, no nothing. Meat, fish, veggies, fruit.

NICHOLS: What was the hardest thing to give up?

JAMES: It was either pancakes or chocolate chip cookies and ice cream.

NICHOLS: Did you go to bed dreaming about pancakes that you could not have?

JAMES: All the time. Had the Cookie Monster chasing me a few times in my dreams.

NICHOLS: Are you quicker on the court now?

JAMES: I am. I am. And that's not such a good thing for the competition.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NICHOLS: I love the idea of LeBron being chased by the Cookie Monster.

And if the Cavaliers win an NBA title this season, I am guessing whoever designed that diet is getting a ring.

All right. Stick around after this break. LeBron discusses why he's not afraid to take a stand on social issues, including the events in Ferguson, Missouri.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES: Having two boys of my own, if just one day my kids, you know, left home to go anywhere, you expect your kids to return. (END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NICHOLS: I'm Rachel Nichols, and welcome back to UNGUARDED.

Athletes and social politics have had a mixed history. Some, like Muhammad Ali and Billie Jean King, embraced using their celebrity to push for change. Others, like Michael Jordan, refused to address anything that might make him unpopular with those buying his sneakers.

We've been talking to LeBron James, who did idolize Jordan as a kid. But as you'll see here, when it comes to speaking up on current events, LeBron is his own man.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICHOLS: This has not been a great year for NBA owners in general. We saw Donald Sterling forced out of the league.

JAMES: Right, right.

NICHOLS: Extremely racist comments. Now the Atlanta Hawks owner...

JAMES: Right, right.

NICHOLS: ... is selling his team.

You spoke out on the Sterling issue, and you were also outspoken on Trayvon Martin.

JAMES: Yes.

NICHOLS: How has your willingness to take a leadership role on those kinds of things changed as you've gotten older?

JAMES: Well, for me, if I feel passionate about it and I feel like something needs to be said or something needs to be done, I voice my opinion. And I don't speak without knowledge. I educate myself first before I dive into a situation.

NICHOLS: We've had the incidents in Ferguson, Missouri...

JAMES: Right.

NICHOLS: ... in the past few months.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't shoot! Don't shoot!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't shoot! Don't shoot!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't shoot! Don't shoot!

NICHOLS: Aside from the specifics of the situation, it did spark this national conversation...

JAMES: Yes.

NICHOLS: ... on the way America sees young black men. What do you think about where we are right now?

JAMES: Me having two young boys of my own, if just one day, my kids left home to go anywhere, you know, you expect your kids to return. You expect your kids to return home. Unless they're off to college.

NICHOLS: Right.

JAMES: I couldn't imagine them not returning home because of someone else's, I don't know, just not thinking, or -- or cowardice act or whatever the case might be. You know, but we know racism is still alive. And you know, the only thing that I can do, as a role model, I feel like I'm a leader. And society it's just to teach my kids and teach the people that follow me what the right way is.

NICHOLS: You're a big football fan.

JAMES: I am.

NICHOLS: Your boys love football.

JAMS: Yes, they do.

NICHOLS: You have, I imagine, the same problem every parent in America had over the last month. The Ray Rice video comes out, and you've got to talk to your kids about it.

JAMES: Yes. Just as simple as this. Never put your hands on a woman. Never put your hand on your classmate that's a female. It's not allowed. It's not condoned in this house, and it shouldn't be condoned in this world. And your dad would never put his hand on your mother. When I was born, that was like a rule that was written on my bed. I knew from day one, it's not something that anyone should condone. And it's a cowardly act.

NICHOLS: You've talked about how important being a dad is to you. And you've been open about the fact that that's partly because you didn't know your father growing up.

JAMES: Right.

NICHOLS: You want to be the opposite.

I was still pretty surprised, I've got to tell you, to see your Instagram post from earlier this year. You basically wrote a note to your dad. And you said, "You know what? I don't know you. I have no idea who you are. But because of you is part of the reason I am who I am today. The fuel that I use, you not being there, it's part of the reason I grew up to become who I am." What made you decide to -- go out like that?

JAMES: I don't know. I don't know. But I think it's the truth. I think, you know, my whole life growing up, I think I just kind of always said, why me? You know, why me? Why wasn't -- why didn't my dad want to be around? I feel like I'm a pretty cool kid; I'm a good kid. Why wouldn't he want to be around for me?

And as I got older and older and kind of had my own family, I started to think, you know, the reason he wasn't there is the reason why I became so strong mentally, so loving to my mother, and I am who I am today because he wasn't there. Because I use it as motivation. Everything that I have gained, he has a role in it, because I used it.

NICHOLS: Have you ever thought, as you've gotten older, maybe what if? Should I explore a relationship with him?

JAMES: Of course there's the "what if" situation, has definitely popped into my head. But I think I -- I think I'm good where I am.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NICHOLS: It does seem he's doing just fine. Very smart and personal stuff there. And we've got a lot more with LeBron James coming up, including how he's dealt with criticism that he's changed since he got rich and famous.

Plus, later in the show, Serena Williams looks back on her more than 20 years in the spotlight.

But first our "Nikon Unguarded Moment of the Week." An unlikely hero burst onto the baseball scene last night. Journeyman Travis Ishikawa of the San Francisco Giants blasted this walk-off three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth. Giants beat the Cardinals, 6-3, and are now on to their third World Series in five years.

And what about Ishikawa? Wow. Thirty-one years old. He was in the minor leagues earlier this season, thought his career might be done. Clearly not. The World Series starts Tuesday.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NICHOLS: Welcome back to UNGUARDED. I'm Rachel Nichols.

We've been talking to one of the world's most famous athletes, LeBron James. LeBron's well-documented journey from the projects of Akron, Ohio, to globetrotting superstar hasn't always been smooth. And he told me that, while it's been a fantastic ride, he has met people along the way who haven't necessarily been happy for him.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICHOLS: You've also been pretty public talking about an entirely different emotional subject. This idea of when athletes are entertainers, sort of make it, and then the people around them aren't necessarily always as happy for them. There's a lot of "you've changed."

JAMES: I've always kind of had a problem with people saying that "you've changed" over the years. And I would hope that you have changed for the better. And -- and I felt like I was changing for the better. And my problem was, I would always say back to them, "Well, you are the one with the issue, because you have not changed, and you're still in the same position you were in, four or five years ago."

And so -- and it happens in our society a lot. And we would rather see -- in our -- in the black community, we would rather people stay at the same bottomless level that they are than see someone grow apart, if it makes sense. We would rather stay together and both struggle. Than one of us making it and us being happy for that person that made it.

NICHOLS: This is a big enough issue for you that you're actually producing a television series about it, called "Survivor's Remorse."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES: I just want to thank my family.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everything is in play when you become famous.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We fell from the Titanic and landed in a lifeboat. I feel guilty.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NICHOLS: It's a fictional story, but it is based on a lot of these true to life conflicts that athletes have.

JAMES: Right. Right. Obviously, not for kids. Let me put that out there. Look, I'm going to look right into the camera. Kids, it's not suitable for kids. Parents, please put your kids to bed before "Survivor's Remorse" comes on television.

But it shows the athletes and people in general that become successful have to deal with it every single day. From their family to people that, that think they're their family. We all have that cousin that we've never seen before, that all of a sudden comes out when you become successful.

NICHOLS: "Hey!"

JAMES: "Hey, you remember me? Your mom used to -- and your brother, back in the day. I don't know, you don't remember. But listen here. Let me hold something."

NICHOLS: Yes.

JAMES: You know.

NICHOLS: Well, with everything you've got ahead of yourself. Basketball, new baby on the way, you're getting to raise your family in Ohio. Is there a word or two that comes to mind as you think about what's ahead?

JAMES: Wow, I mean, that's a great question. One word I can describe what's ahead is faith. I have faith in myself, faith my family. Faith in my community. And, you know, Ohio, the state of Ohio.

I hold a -- a huge responsibility to myself to understand that me playing the game of basketball is much bigger than me dribbling, or dunking, or making the game with a shot. So the whole word "faith" is the No. 1 thing I can kind of use for the very near future.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NICHOLS: It's going to be an interesting season indeed.

Remember, you can catch LeBron's documentary, "More Than a Game," on this network, next Friday night.

And you can catch 18-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams right after this break. She's now in some extremely lofty company, and she tells us just how surreal that is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAMS: It doesn't seem right: Christy, Martina, Serena. Like oh, my goodness. I can officially be there now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NICHOLS: I'm Rachel Nichols. Welcome back to UNGUARDED.

This summer Serena Williams found herself in an extremely unfamiliar position. She struggled at the Grand Slam. She was fending off rumors of drug use after appearing disoriented during a Wimbledon doubles match. And at 32, she heard open questioning on whether she should retire.

Yet last month when things looked the most grim, Williams did what she has done over and over in her career. She came up bigger than ever, winning the U.S. Open.

Now as the WTA tour prepares for its season-ending championships, we sit down to discuss the year that was.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(MUSIC: "THE EYE OF THE TIGER")

NICHOLS: Congratulations. You have now had the craziest year in tennis ever. I mean, how high have the highs been for you and how low the lows?

WILLIAMS: Definitely super-crazy year. Definitely the highest and great. This is the greatest, I mean, getting the 18th, the Open. I think it was fitting, actually. And the lows, I just broke through all of them. That's what really helped out.

NICHOLS: The U.S. Open was your 18th career Grand Slam win. That ties you with Chris Everett and Martina Navratilova. WILLIAMS: It just doesn't seem right: Christy, Martina, Serena. It's

like oh, my goodness, I can officially be there now. So it feels great. Because you hear these names, growing up, and you really think that, one day, I said, oh, you know, Serena. You don't think about yourself like that. You just think I'm going to work hard and do the best I can. And then you start chasing titles and you start chasing legends. And it's just a great feeling.

NICHOLS: I don't want to skimp on how impressive 18 is. But the record is 22 career Grand Slams, Steffi Graf. How hard are you going to fight to hit that number?

WILLIAMS: That's going to be hard. Steffi was a great player and great champion.

NICHOLS: But I know you. You're already thinking about it.

WILLIAMS: I'm already thinking about 19, not 22.

NICHOLS: OK.

WILLIAMS: But of course, you know me, I've already thought, OK, even on the court. I thought, OK, 19. But not 22.

NICHOLS: Well, you were out on the court, winning 18, you were thinking 19?

WILLIAMS: No, after the match.

NICHOLS: OK.

WILLIAMS: Once it was over.

NICHOLS: OK.

WILLIAMS: You know. I did think, I got to do 19 now. But for the most part, I don't think about 22. It just -- it seems so far away. It really does.

NICHOLS: Steffi retired when she was 30 years old. You are turning 33 at the end of this month.

WILLIAMS: Yes.

NICHOLS: What do you think it as it about you -- You are now the oldest player to ever hold the No. 1 ranking -- that so many other greats have had to quit?

WILLIAMS: I think tennis before was a sport where you thought you had to stop early and young. And now, more traditional people are playing until they're 35.

I think the mental aspect of being able to come in week -- every day, work hard, practice, train, train, train, for 30-something years is definitely not easy. And it's a choice. Either you choose to do it or you don't. NICHOLS: You and I met when you were 17 years old. So I can't

believe I'm asking you this question. But is there anything your current older self would tell your younger self back then?

WILLIAMS: No, I think that's cheating. I think it's unfair to, like, you know, to give hints. And so I really believe that you have to learn things in life. And you have to, sometimes, you know, make great decisions or make bad decisions. Or you have to do it, though, or else you'll never have the experience, and I would never be able to have an opportunity to tell my younger self what to do.

NICHOLS: You've never taken yourself or any of this too seriously?

WILLIAMS: No. I'm always joking. I'm always making you laugh. And I always fry to see the lighter side of things, instead of the darker side. Because if you don't, I think you would go crazy. So for me that's how I stay, you know, stable.

NICHOLS: Your sister had a great, I thought, quote earlier this year. She said, "We try to rush our tennis players off the stage too early."

WILLIAMS: Yes.

NICHOLS: "People are always asking me when I am going to retire." She said people have been asking her that since she was 25 years old. Do you feel that?

WILLIAMS: That is true. That's a great way to put it. That's absolutely true. We never want to see, you know, myself out of the game yet, or we don't want to see Roger out of the game. And Venus. We don't want to be rushed out.

NICHOLS: How long do you want to stick around for?

WILLIAMS: I don't know. I'm taking it year by year and championship by championship. Title by title.

NICHOLS: At least until 19, right?

WILLIAMS: At the very least.

(MUSIC: KATY PERRY, "ROAR")

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NICHOLS: I have the feeling she's going to want to keep going after 19. Certainly looking forward to watching and finding out.

All right, that is going to do it for tonight's show. But you can follow me on Twitter and Facebook or on the Web at CNN.COM/Unguarded.

And while we are off next Friday night, we will be right back here the week after that for more UNGUARDED, where the end of the game is just the start of the story. Good night.