LeBron James Endorses Hillary Clinton: ‘King James’ Throws Support Behind The Democratic Presidential Candidate
Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James is quite possibly the most influential athlete in all of professional sports. He knows this and embraces it as evidenced by his speech at the ESPYs alongside his best friends Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, and Dwyane Wade about the problem with gun violence and police brutality throughout the United States.
James made another shocking decision on Sunday when he wrote an op-ed for Business Insider. In that op-ed, LeBron announced that he is endorsing Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and will be voting for her in the November election. You can read his op-ed word-for-word right here, but I’ll take you through the highlights.
LeBron endorses Hillary https://t.co/BVuGKh5yqv
— GaryGWRitchie (@GaryGWRitchie) October 3, 2016
LeBron James opens the writing by saying that he had two missions upon returning to Cleveland from Miami. One was on the basketball court where he wanted to bring a championship back to Northeast Ohio which he accomplished last season by defeating the Golden State Warriors in seven games. LeBron had a nice and subtle troll job for the Warriors as he made sure to mention that the Cavaliers overcame a 3-1 series deficit to win the title.
James then moves on to the other reason he came back to Cleveland and that was to provide a support system for the families in Northeast Ohio to make sure that their children stay in school and have a chance at a future with an education. LeBron mentions his LeBron James Family Foundation which is a big part of his efforts.
James points out that when he grew up in Akron, lots of other kids weren’t afforded the same opportunities that he was because they didn’t have basketball to lean on. Many children accepted that there would be no chance of them ever getting a college education and would end up dropping out of school and turning to gangs, drugs, etc.
In year six, LeBron mentions that he has 1,100 kids in his Wheels For Education and Akron I Promise Network programs which help ensure that the children of Akron are able to pursue their dreams in college. He encourages his kids to always give back to the community as it takes everyone to make changes.
James then goes on to announce that he is supporting Hillary Clinton in the November presidential election. LeBron points out that he’s a Barack Obama supporter and believes that Secretary Clinton will continue to push Obama’s policies if elected.
LeBron James believes that Hillary will make sure that the children of America are taken care of. That includes rebuilding public schools, making sure every child has an equal opportunity at a good education and making college affordable for all children.
LeBron James is with her. He’s endorsing Hillary Clinton for president. https://t.co/irtGK0ppCu
— Jason Howerton (@jason_howerton) October 3, 2016
Although James never mentions Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump by name in the piece, he does take a subtle jab at the 70-year-old businessman in the second to the last paragraph.
“Finally, we must address the violence, of every kind, the African-American community is experiencing in our streets and seeing on our TVs. I believe rebuilding our communities by focusing on at-risk children is a significant part of the solution. However, I am not a politician, I don’t know everything it will take finally to end the violence. But I do know we need a president who brings us together and keeps us unified. Policies and ideas that divide us more are not the solution. We must all stand together — no matter where we are from or the color of our skin. And Hillary is running on the message of hope and unity that we need.”
It’ll be interesting to see what kind of impact LeBron James’ announcement will have on the presidential race, if any.
[Featured Image by Jason Miller/Getty Images]
