Los Angeles Lakers superstar small forward LeBron James and Golden State Warriors All-Star swingman Draymond Green are fierce rivals on the court.
However, off the court, LeBron and Green are very close and have partnered together for the “More Than A Vote” movement.
Green has also been very involved in trying to fix the NCAA. Earlier this week, the Warriors' do-it-all forward, along with U.S. Senator Murphy, wrote a powerful essay for ESPN where they talked about how the NCAA “can't return to business as usual.”
As a former standout college athlete and current professional athlete, and a national policymaker and lifelong college sports fan, we are both rooting for games to resume as soon as it's safe. But we also believe that these twin crises have laid bare for America the not-always-obvious distinction between the two classes of sports — those played by paid professionals and those played by unpaid college athletes. Now is the time to wrestle with this vanishing difference.
Professional athletes will no doubt bear some risk when they return to play, but they get paid. College athletes will return to the field and court with similar risks and get paid nothing. It isn't, of course, that their labor isn't profitable. It is immensely so, and the return of college football in the fall will make many adults who profit off college athletics very rich. But many of the schools these athletes play for will not even provide the health insurance to help pay the costs of care should an athlete get sick. This is an abomination, and it demonstrates how COVID-19 has made clear that it's time for college sports to change the way that business is done.
LeBron James, upon seeing the ESPN column, took to Twitter to voice his support for Draymond Green.
No way @Money23Green gonna shut up and dribble 🤣. Great to see my @morethanavote Brother leading on this one. 🙏🏾✊🏾💪🏾👑https://t.co/cS42w2q5Zb
— LeBron James (@KingJames) June 26, 2020
When college sports return, Green, LeBron and other professional athletes want to see the students get paid since they bring in so much money to their respective universities.
Back in September, California Governor Gavin Newsom went on LeBron and HBO's show “The Shop” to formally sign California's “Fair Pay to Play” act.
The law will allow college athletes in the state of California to profit off the use of their name, image and likeness.
Green and the Warriors won't be in Orlando for the resumption of the season. Meanwhile, LeBron and the Lakers will be one of the favorites to win the 2020 title once the playoffs start.
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