Activism Rumors
Duane Rankin: “The racist old boys’ club in professional sports is officially closed.” @Reverend Al Sharpton as Robert Sarver is looking to sell Phoenix #Suns and Phoenix Mercury after #NBA investigation backlash.
Michelle Obama’s voter registration and engagement initiative is making a push to get Black voters to the polls for this November’s midterm elections. The former first lady and Phoenix Suns point guard Chris Paul teamed up for a video released Friday — timed to coincide with National Black Voter Day, which was launched in 2020 by BET and the National Urban League — encouraging Black voters to get registered and head to the ballot boxes.
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Stephen Curry committed to winning another title while expanding his activist profile
At 34, Stephen Curry is “absolutely” committed to winning the title again this year. But the game isn’t his only focus. Curry has raised his profile as a businessman, a humanitarian, and — slowly but surely — an activist and more vocal political leader. Look into his kaleidoscopic stare as he considers his status in the history books, and you begin to believe Curry when he declares that he can eventually “have as much influence” as Michael Jordan. And while the notoriously apolitical Jordan once said that “Republicans buy sneakers, too,” Curry has already put his brand on the line by clashing with Trump, endorsing Joe Biden, and marching for racial justice. Now, Curry is grappling with how he might expand the meaning of influence, and wondering what the fuck he is gonna say next.
Stephen Curry rise has interlaced directly with historic racism, bigotry, and political chaos — with American protest and athlete activism not seen since the Sixties. And yet Curry has remained a reluctant culture warrior. He analyzes political issues like an opponent’s defense, studying “where the loopholes are, where the missteps are,” maneuvering to say less and, as Obama taught him, do more. “The current events of the Trump era, I don’t wake up and say, ‘I wanna go at that conversation,’ ” Curry, who has 75 million followers, tells me. Fans and the media, though, have come to expect the liberal NBA’s superstars to respond to CNN headlines. “Some of this stuff falls on your doorstep and people want a perspective or comment, and sometimes you cough that up unsolicited.” Which hasn’t always gone so well for him. “I think I probably need to do the work of looking back at the last 10 or 12 years.”
