In a Tuesday tweet, Michelle Obama praised LeBron James for his recently-announced I PROMISE School, a joint venture between the Akron, Ohio school system and the LeBron James Family Foundation. The I PROMISE school officially launched on Monday with classes for third and fourth graders. It will expand each year with the goal of having grades one through eight by 2022.

Obama tweeted, “.@BarackObama and I are so proud of @KingJames and @IPROMISESchool. Kids in Akron and across the US are lucky to have you as a role model on and off the court. Keep using your platform for good and giving our kids a chance to shoot for the stars. #ReachHigher #BetterMakeRoom”

The new school's principal, Brandi Davis, is a veteran of the Akron school district, and she has served on the board of the LeBron James Family Foundation since its origination. Davis has worked for Akron Public Schools for 18 years, as a teacher and principal at Central Hower, as an assistant principal at East High School and a principal at Schumacher Elementary School. She earned undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Akron, and lives on the west side.

On Sunday night's eve of the school opening, James tweeted out his own opinion of the school’s opening, noting that he personally missed 83 days of school when he was in the 4th grade. “Tomorrow is going to be one of the greatest moments (if not the greatest) of my life when we open the #IPROMISE School,” Lebron tweeted.

Donald Trump Takes on LeBron James (AGAIN)

As LeBron James' admirers far and wide -- including the business community -- appauded his new school initiative, America's racist, white nationalist president created a uproar, taking to Twitter on Friday night after James spoke calmly and with composure in a CNN interview with Don Lemon recorded on Monday.

The interview largely focused on James’ donating $8 million to create the new I PROMISE School and its focus on teaching and empowering young people who are at-risk, living in poverty with family lives and struggles that are not propelling them into future success.

In response to a question from Lemon about race relations in America, James said that Mr. Trump was using sports to divide the country -- a reality apparent to countless Americans. It is true that in response to earlier insults months ago, that Trump tweeted at James, the basketball legend referred to the president as a 'bum'.

Trump took to twitter after the interview, insulting in a dreadfully disturbing pattern of racist rhetoric, the intelligence of both James and Lemon.

“Lebron James was just interviewed by the dumbest man on television, Don Lemon,” Mr. Trump wrote. “He made Lebron look smart, which isn’t easy to do. I like Mike!” The reference to 'Mike' is believed to be the debate over who is the greatest basketball player--Michael Jordan or LeBron James.

By Saturday afternoon, even First Lady Melania Trump was involved. The New York Times picks up the story:

Mr. Lemon came to Mr. James’s defense on Saturday morning, tweeting: “Who’s the real dummy? A man who puts kids in classrooms or one who puts kids in cages?” He added the hashtag #BeBest, a reference to an initiative by the first lady, Melania Trump, that aims to help children.

Stephanie Grisham, Ms. Trump’s communications director, said in a statement: “It looks like LeBron James is working to do good things on behalf of our next generation and just as she always has, the first lady encourages everyone to have an open dialogue about issues facing children today.”

Ms. Grisham added that Ms. Trump would be open to visiting Mr. James’s new school in Akron.

Changing social norms are powerful inspirations for misogyny in the far right, new research claims ( Reuters )

Misogyny is a key element of the so-called alt-right movement and there is a strong link between men’s rights activism and white supremacy, a report has found.

The Anti-Defamation League’s report argues hatred of women is a “dangerous and underestimated component of extremism”.

The research – titled 'When Women are the Enemy: The Intersection of Misogyny and White Supremacy' – found the increasingly popular narrative of white men as victims of feminism has been a key driving force behind the misogyny which has become rife in far right movements.

“Misogyny has the potential to act as a gateway into the white supremacist world,” Jessica Reaves, the report’s author who is an expert at the league’s Centre on Extremism, said.

“The hatred and resentment of women voiced by groups like involuntary celibates and men’s rights activists is disturbingly similar to white supremacists’ hatred of minorities. And some white supremacists, especially those on the alt-right, use the same degrading, violent anti-woman rhetoric we hear coming from misogynist groups.”

The Anti-Defamation League – a Jewish NGO based in the US which fights antisemitism and all forms of bigotry -- found a strong connection between men's rights activism and incel (short for "involuntarily celibate") language and the perpetuation of rape culture and violence against women who refuse men their "rightful" sexual experiences.

“When we see the vile hatred that comes out of the white supremacist movement, we immediately and rightly call out this hatred as a dangerous threat. The hateful and sometimes violent rhetoric of misogynist groups should be treated no differently,” Jonathan Greenblatt, the chief executive and national director of the league, said.

“Increasingly, the tropes and themes used by misogynists to describe women and their place in the world are no different than those used by many white supremacists.”

The report marks the first time the Anti-Defamation League has investigated misogyny as a component of extremism.

Reaves told The Independent the link between misogyny and white supremacy was not surprising to her but the organisation thought it was important to open the wider public's eyes to it.

"The inherently anti-woman culture of the alt-right makes it a welcoming space for misogynists who are interested in white supremacist ideology," she said. "There are also factions in the alt-right that are less overt in their expressions of white supremacy – it’s there, but swathed in white polo shirts and khakis, rather than swastikas or Klan hoods. That makes them appealing to misogynists who may just be testing the waters."

Explaining how people on alt right forums perpetuate rape culture, she added: "There’s a profoundly anti-woman undercurrent to many white supremacist/alt right online exchanges, and that can easily veer from disrespect into the full-on promotion of violence, including rape. This is even more evident if you visit incel and MRA boards, where anger towards and hatred of women is the primary focus – and participants celebrate and encourage misogynist violence."