Several NBA Players Taking Active Role In Presidential Campaign
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Several NBA Players Aligning
Themselves With Obama Campaign |
Several NBA players are "taking an active role" in this year's presidential race, according to Michael Lee of the WASHINGTON POST. Clippers G Baron Davis, who is supporting Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama, said, "Guys are paying attention to what's going on in the world, and I think that many players realize the impact our voice can have." Support for Obama "is far from unanimous around the league," as Kings C Spencer Hawes is supporting Republican Presidential candidate John McCain. Hawes has not campaigned for McCain, but he said, "I'd be ready and willing if I was asked." However, Lee notes "most players interviewed for this story said they were backing Obama." Hornets G Chris Paul "encouraged people to vote in a Web commercial for the Obama campaign-sponsored Web site," while Cavaliers F LeBron James "donated $20,000 to the Democratic White House Victory Fund," a joint committee set up by Obama and the Democratic Party for the presidential race. And while the NBA "is predominantly African American," Wizards F Etan Thomas said that "the enthusiasm for Obama has less to do with him being black than with his views on the economy, health care and education." Political activism among athletes today "doesn't come close to that of the 1960s and 1970s, but it does contrast with the past 20 years, when athletes often chose not to take a stand or share their beliefs for fear of ridicule or financial hits." Democracy Matters Founder and Magic C Adonal Foyle, whose organization is a nonprofit, nonpartisan group that works on campaign finance reform, said of endorsing a candidate, "There is some risk, there is no doubt about that, but I think that's part of the responsibility." Lee notes the political climate "has led to debates in locker rooms around the league." Hawes: "Those are the hot topics because that's where all the news is from" (WASHINGTON POST, 10/23).
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