LeBron James has played a central role in ensuring that Florida felons will be able to vote in this year’s election.
The Los Angeles Lakers star was part of a coalition that chipped in roughly $27 million to cover fines and fees of Florida-based offenders, thereby clearing away the red tape standing in the way of them being able to participate in the electoral process in 2020.
As a result of James’ efforts with the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, approximately 13,000 felons will now be eligible to vote.
Other well-known celebrities who partook in getting this taken care of include former Democrat presidential candidate and business magnate Michael Bloomberg, Charlotte Hornets owner Michael Jordan and well-known pop singer Ariana Grande.
Don’t try to rob the greatest UFC fighter of all time. It won’t end well. https://t.co/VtBEWH0kq3
— Game 7 (@game7__) November 2, 2020
As a result of James’ efforts, felons from Florida’s four biggest counties will be able to vote. The counties include: Hillsborough, Pinellas, Palm Beach, and Polk. Roughly 80 percent of the felons in those areas are not white, with 74 percent being listed as black. Given that Florida is a massive swing state, and taking those demographics into account, this could play a big role in the presidential race.
James has publicly endorsed Joe Biden for president, which isn’t much of a surprise given the lengthy feud he and President Donald Trump have been engaged in. On Monday, President Trump took a shot at the NBA in general at a rally, prompting the crowd to chant “LeBron James sucks” over and over.
“How about basketball?” President Trump said. “How about Lebron? I felt badly for LeBron. I felt very badly. Down 71% and that’s for their championship — I didn’t watch one shot. I get bored. … You know why? When they don’t respect our country, when they don’t respect our flag, nobody wants to watch. Nobody!”
So that’s how she motivates Gronk. https://t.co/84SK9ScUhu
— Game 7 (@game7__) November 3, 2020
A couple of weeks earlier, James was asked about his incessant back and forths with the President.
“I don’t go back and forth with anybody,” he said. “And I damn sure won’t go back and forth with that guy. “But we want better, we want change in our community. We always talk about, ‘We want change,’ and now we have the opportunity to do that.”
Prior to that, President Trump referred to James as a “hater.”
This is how you get into the spirit of Halloween. https://t.co/AcyucHrDHS
— Game 7 (@game7__) November 1, 2020
“He’s a great basketball player, but people don’t want to see a guy that’s that way,” he said. “They don’t want to see that. … He’s a hater.”
The President cited that as the reason for the NBA’s falling TV ratings.
“You don’t want to sit down, watch a basketball game, and then watch somebody that hates your guts, okay.”
Now that’s how you do Halloween. https://t.co/C693pk7Nlh
— Game 7 (@game7__) October 31, 2020
When word got back to James that President Trump wouldn’t watch him or the NBA anymore, the Lakers star dismissed it.
“You trying to make me laugh right now?” he replied. “I appreciate that. I really don’t think the basketball community are sad about losing his viewership, him viewing the game. And that’s all I got to say.”
One way or another, a new chapter in the LeBron-Trump rivalry will be written this week. Who will emerge victorious? Time will tell.
Related: Trump’s LeBron James Comments Go Viral (Video)
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
