Nike shows it's no Under Armour with LeBron ad that slams discrimination
It's getting harder and harder to avoid politics in sports.
Pro basketball stars in particular are speaking out against discrimination and hate, and LeBron James is no exception.
On Sunday, the three-time NBA champion tweeted out this powerful new Nike ad featuring himself, fellow NBA pro Kevin Durant and tennis great Serena Williams.
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In sports, "you're defined by your actions, not your looks or beliefs," the ad's narrator says.
The video shows athletes using spray paint to extend their basketball courts and soccer fields to show that "equality should have no boundaries." Shots of a Muslim track runner and people standing outside of a court building push home the message that "opportunity should not discriminate" and "the ball should bounce the same for everyone."
In years past, such an ad might not carry the same weight. But at a time when its rival Under Armour is getting slammed by its own sponsored athletes (including Steph Curry) for praising President Donald Trump, Nike's video could certainly be considered a political statement.
James appeared at Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign events and tweeted in support of the Women's March, so it's not hard to see where his politics lie.
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Earlier this week, Reebok released a "Nevertheless She Persisted" T-shirt, a reference to Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren's silenced speech speech in opposition to Jeff Session's nomination as attorney general.
In Trump's America, where refugees and immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries were recently banned, it's going to be more difficult for voices in the sports world to stay inside the lines.
Topics Social Good
Keith Wagstaff is an assistant editor at Mashable and a terrible Settlers of Catan player. He has written for TIME, The Wall Street Journal Magazine, NBC News, The Village Voice, VICE, GQ and New York Magazine, among many other reputable and not-so-reputable publications. After nearly a decade in New York City, he now lives in his native Los Angeles.
