Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James is preparing for the upcoming NBA restart this July, but he also has an eye looking toward November as well.
LeBron continues to make an impact beyond the bounds of the basketball court. Together with other Black athletes and entertainers, he recently formed More Than A Vote, a voting rights group aiming to empower Black communities as the upcoming November general election gets closer and closer.
As The Associated Press reports, their latest plans involve turning sports facilities into mega-voting sites to provide a wider space for in-person voting amidst the backdrop of the current pandemic:
More Than A Vote, the James organization dedicated to maximizing Black turnout in November, shared its plans with The Associated Press on Wednesday after the Detroit Pistons became the second NBA franchise to announce plans to use its arena for voting later this year. In Georgia, Fulton County elections officials this week approved the Atlanta Hawks’ proposal to use State Farm Arena as a polling site. Plans call for the arena to serve as a countywide early voting site ahead of Election Day.
Lloyd Pierce, head coach of the Atlanta Hawks, said the arrangement in his city ensures “high turnout” in a safe environment.
Aside from the Atlanta Hawks and Detroit Pistons, the Milwaukee Bucks have also pledged their home arena to be a voting site for the state of Wisconsin. Coaches Lloyd Pierce and David Fizdale have both pushed for the same initiative to be adopted by more and more teams around the league.
As always, we can expect King James to do more than just “shut up and dribble.” The Lakers star has been very outspoken on social media over the last month, and he will continue to push voting rights and fight against social injustice around the country.