LeBron James endorses Hillary Clinton for President

Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James endorsed Hillary Clinton for President with an op-ed in the Akron newspaper.

Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James is a marketing force matched only by Michael Jordan (and perhaps, pre-The-Warriors-blew-a-3-1-lead, Stephen Curry). Since returning to Cleveland following a four-year run with the Miami Heat, James has begun using his influence in more political ways.

In December of 2014, James joined teammate Kyrie Irving in wearing a shirt emblazoned with the phrase “I Can’t Breath,” and nod to the last words of Eric Garner, a black man who died after NYPD officers confronted him for selling cigarettes on the street. In June of this year, James joined fellow stars Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, and Dwayne Wade onstage at the ESPY awards to deliver an anti-violence, anti-racial divisionism speech. That speech followed the shootings of black men by police officers in Orlando and Baton Rogue, and the retaliatory shooting of several police officers during a protest in Dallas.

Tonight, LeBron James took his activism a step further, openly endorsing Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in this November’s presidential election.

This is a step that Jordan, the man to whom James is most often compared on and off the court, never took until 2012, long after his legacy and brand was secured.

James’ Business Insider editorial never even mentions the Republican presidential nominee, crucially avoiding the negative campaigning that has come to define this election as much as anything. Instead, he details some of the work done in Northern Ohio by his foundations, before declaring.

“I support Hillary because she will build on the legacy of my good friend, President Barack Obama. I believe in what President Obama has done for our country and support her commitment to continuing that legacy,” James wrote.

James goes on to say that he believes Clinton will help those in need achieve a good education and that she will help keep the country united during one of the most tumultuous racial periods in recent memory. It’s a bold statement by someone who relies on those of all political creeds to purchase his merchandise and attend his games, and it runs in direct opposition to Cavaliers’ owner Dan Gilbert, who recently held a closed fundraiser for the Republican nominee. James, though, may view that last part as a positive, given Gilbert’s treatment of him after he departed Cleveland for Miami in 2010.