LeBron James officially passed the leadership torch of his nonprofit organization, More Than a Vote, to Seattle Storm’s Nneka Ogwumike, a nine-time WNBA All-Star and the president of the players' union. Founded in 2020, More Than a Vote was first launched in response to the nationwide protests following the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. The organization focused on protecting voting rights, particularly for Black voters, and played a large role in the 2020 election by recruiting poll workers and transforming sports arenas into polling locations.
Now, as the organization reboots with a renewed focus on women's issues and reproductive rights, Ogwumike is stepping into the leadership role, aiming to expand its impact. In a recent interview with Tania Ganguli of The New York Times, Ogwumike emphasized that the scope of the organization’s work would be broader than just abortion rights.
“It’s all about educating people about all the different roles that exist in society that support and protect the freedoms of women when it comes to family planning, I.V.F., birth control, everything. There’s just a lot that’s at stake,” she said.
LeBron James confident in Nneka Ogwumike's leadership
James has expressed his confidence in Ogwumike's ability to lead More Than a Vote into this new chapter.
“I started More Than a Vote to give athletes a place to educate themselves and get active authentically to who we are,” James said. “It’s only right that this election be about women athletes. We’re all following their lead right now and Nneka is the perfect person for this election. I’m excited to support her vision.”
Ogwumike has been a strong advocate for social justice issues within the WNBA, and has already assembled a group of influential female athletes to support the cause. The group includes WNBA players like Brittney Griner, Breanna Stewart, A’ja Wilson and others, as well as former WNBA legends Lisa Leslie and Sheryl Swoopes. Additionally, Madison Hammond from the NWSL has joined the effort.
Stephanie Schriock, the former president of Emily’s List, has also been brought on as More Than a Vote’s senior campaign adviser.
More Than a Vote has already made an impressive impact since its inception, raising over $4.2 million in its first two years. However, the organization’s focus moving forward will be less on fundraising and more on leveraging the influence of the athletes involved to drive change. Ogwumike believes that as the attention on women’s sports continues to grow, so too will the platform for advocating on behalf of women’s rights.
“I think it’s important to understand, while we’re playing our platform is probably the largest,” she said.
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