LeBron James is considered by the majority of people to be the NBA’s most powerful player in history.
The veteran with the Cleveland Cavaliers has been called the de facto general manager of the team, influences a number of decisions in the organization through frequent opinions he expresses and increased that leverage via short-term contracts of the maximum level so Dan Gilbert the team owner and David Griffin the GM know they need to make him happy.
Beyond the influence he holds with the Cavaliers organization, the world of basketball just listens when he speaks. It is no surprise to anyone that his plans to stand during the playing of the national anthem were in the headlines as overall his word is looked at as being important.
In an op-ed that runs in the Akron Beacon Journal on Monday, James makes an official endorsement of Hillary Clinton the Democratic presidential nominee. The newspaper is his hometown paper.
LeBron touched upon different key points as to why he endorsed Clinton. He likes that she will help rebuild the public schools, make it affordable for all to attend college and address violence that befalls in a disproportionate rate African-Americans
Those issues, said James were in line with priorities he set for the LeBron James Family Foundation.
James spoke about the foundation and his tough childhood for over 50% of the beginning of the article and did not mention Clinton’s name until the 13th of a total of 19 paragraphs.
The important point is that James is endorsing Clinton due to priorities she has that align with his foundation as well as his own experiences in life.
In the op-ed, James makes no mention of Donald Trump by name. However, the presence of the GOP nominees can be felt throughout. That partially is because of the working relationship James has with Cavs owner Gilbert who is said to have hosted a Trump fundraiser last week in Detroit.
LeBron is loved in Ohio, which is a key battleground state in the election. He is looked upon as the hero that brought Cleveland a major sports championship after 52 years of none, but not for his beliefs politically.
Nevertheless, his opinion due to his stature amongst many in the state could be persuasive to a number of Ohio voters.
