LeBron James and the LA Lakers champion racial justice in the NBA
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We won’t easily forget the 2020 season in which the Los Angeles Lakers won their 17th NBA title, and LeBron James earned his fourth Finals MVP trophy – becoming the first player in history to win it with three different teams. But when the season’s story is written, it may be remembered more for how the league and its players used their platform to combat racial injustice.
Before the league’s restart in July, many players participated in the Black Lives Matter protest movement against racism and police brutality, sparked by the police killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. Some were concerned that their voices wouldn’t be heard if they played basketball in a bubble.
Ultimately, the NBA and National Basketball Players Association (NBPA), led by Chris Paul, agreed to resume the season with a commitment to address social justice issues.
Immediately after Floyd was killed, players created the More Than A Vote group to mobilise black voters and combat voter suppression. Inside the NBA’s Covid-secure bubble, the program worked to turn basketball arenas into voting locations.
With long waits making headlines during early voting across the USA, arenas emerged as bright spots, repurposing huge spaces mostly devoid of fans into efficient and relatively safe polling places.
These large voting sites proved attractive to voters looking for the best way to cast their ballots amid the coronavirus pandemic. They featured many rows of voting machines, ample space for social distancing, and staff accustomed to large crowds.
James, who spearheaded the More Than A Vote program, believes players have “strength in numbers” as they continue to use their voices collectively outside the bubble after the season has ended.
“We know we all want to see better days, and when we leave here we got to continue to push that,” James said. “Continue to push social injustice, continue to push voting suppression, continue to push police brutality, continue to push everything that is opposite of love. If we can continue to do that, all of us, America will be a much better place … we all love this country.”
