Trump Attacked Black Athletes--and Paid for It in the End

LeBron James’s Twitter account was unusually active as the results of the presidential election poured in last week. The Los Angeles Lakers star circulated memes mocking Donald Trump for losing the election, and praised Black voters for their record participation. But also noteworthy was his thank-you to the voting-rights champion and former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams; former First Lady Michelle Obama; Sherrilyn Ifill, the president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund; and Kristen Clarke, the president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.

James expressed gratitude to these Black women for assisting his More Than a Vote campaign, an ambitious initiative he started in June to mobilize voters—especially young voters of color. James’s group enlisted athletes and entertainers to promote voting and offered discounted Lyft rides to the polls. It also recruited poll workers, registered voters, and supported grassroots community organizers. The point was to counteract conservatives’ long-term campaign to suppress Black voter turnout. The efforts of James and his collaborators benefited the Democratic nominee, Joe Biden, who squeaked to victory in several swing states.

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/11/black-athletes-should-never-stick-sports-again/617052/