LeBron James and a group of other prominent black athletes and entertainers are "starting a new group aimed at protecting African-Americans' voting rights," according to Jonathan Martin of the N.Y. TIMES. The organization, "called More Than a Vote, will partly be aimed at inspiring African-Americans to register and to cast a ballot in November." But James and other current and former basketball players, including Hawks G Trae Young, WNBA Phoenix Mercury G Skylar Diggins-Smith and ESPN's Jalen Rose will "go well beyond traditional celebrity get-out-the-vote efforts." James said that he "would use his high-profile platform on social media to combat voter suppression and would be vocal about drawing attention to any attempts to restrict the franchise of racial minorities." Martin reports the group, which will be "organized as a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization and therefore not engage in specific advocacy for a candidate, is still coming together." James and his business partner, SpringHill Entertainment CEO Maverick Carter, are "putting up the initial funding" (N.Y. TIMES, 6/11).
IN THE DETAILS: In L.A., Tania Ganguli reports longtime music industry exec Jimmy Iovine and James' investment advisor, Main Street Advisors Founder & CEO Paul Wachter, also contributed to the "initial investment for the organization." Among the "group's advisors" are Adam Mendelsohn, James' longtime media advisor and a former political strategist who worked for Arnold Schwarzenegger while he was governor of California, and Addisu Demissie, who managed U.S. Sen. Cory Booker's (D-N.J.) presidential campaign and is advising Presidential candidate Joe Biden's campaign. James' organization "plans to target states such as Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Florida, Georgia and Texas to fight against voter suppression" (L.A. TIMES, 6/11). ESPN.com's Dave McMenamin cited a source as saying that the "More Than a Vote" idea was "born out of the anger and frustration James felt in the days following the death of George Floyd." McMenamin reported James "talked to other athletes," including former NBAer Stephen Jackson, who was a friend of Floyd's and spoke at rallies in Minnesota following Floyd's death, and the plan "came into focus" (ESPN.com, 6/10).
