Bill Clinton, Kobe Bryant To Talk 'Kids & Sports' In La Quinta
LA QUINTA (CBSLA.com) — The "Black Mamba" is set to go one-on-one with former President Bill Clinton.
Lakers guard Kobe Bryant will join Clinton for a town hall-style forum Monday at the La Quinta Resort and Club to discuss the role of sports in the lives of children, organizers announced Friday.
The "ESPN Town Hall: Kids and Sports" meeting, which will be moderated by ESPN commentator Mike Greenberg of the "Mike & Mike" radio show and will feature panel members including Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp, Heisman Trophy-winning running back and former NFL player Herschel Walker, and Olympic gold medal sprinter Allyson Felix.
Greenberg will hold a question-and-answer session with teenagers as part of the event, which is part of the Clinton Foundation's Health Matters Conference slated for Tuesday at the resort.
The event is meant to explore potential solutions for the fact that, in some U.S. communities, just 1 in 5 kids play sports, according to the Aspen Institute's Project Play, an Washington, D.C.-based educational and policy studies group.
President Clinton, who will host the event, said in a statement the conference will showcase what leaders from business, technology, sports and philanthropy sectors are doing to give "young people the opportunity to be active, stay healthy, and live up to their best potential."
And with his own unique perspective as both a world-class athlete and as a father to two daughters, Bryant said he wants to call attention to the "need for universal access and early positive experiences in sports and play."
"Today's kids are the least active in history and dropping out of sports at alarming rates," Bryant said.
ESPN will tape the event and air a condensed version on ESPN2 on Feb. 9 at 5 p.m.
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