LeBron hints he might campaign for Hillary Clinton
LeBron James said Monday that his weekend endorsement of Hillary Clinton wasn't an attempt to influence balloting in his home state of Ohio, which has been a crucial swing state in the last three presidential elections.
"I didn't do it for that," James said after a Cleveland Cavaliers camp practice, according to ESPN's Dave McMenamin. "I did it because it's what me and my family believe in, it's what we want, and hopefully it happens."
James pledged his support for Clinton in a Sunday op-ed, saying, "she will build on the legacy of my good friend, President Barack Obama." By coincidence, Clinton was at a campaign event in James' nearby hometown of Akron on Monday. He didn't attend, but said something else may be in the works.
"I know she's actually in my hometown today, and because we have two practices today I won't be able to attend that, but we've been in communication about doing something and we'll figure it out," James said. "Obviously, my letter going out, it said enough if I'm not able to accomplish that. You know who I'll be voting for."
Bill Clinton's official Twitter account thanked James for his support.
Great endorsement by NBA champ focused on his Ohio community, LeBron James. #StriveForGreatness https://t.co/EIfKmcfk35
— Bill Clinton (@billclinton) October 3, 2016
James added that he wasn't bothered by Donald Trump clinching the Republican nomination on the Quicken Loans Arena floor in July, in an event that included the party covering up LeBron's famous Nike mural in downtown Cleveland with a political message.
Related: LeBron reportedly urged Bieber to reject $5M offer to perform at GOP event
"It didn't bother me," he said. "I knew who I'm going to be behind and, it just happened that way. I have no control over that, so it didn't bother me. It didn't stop me from doing my day job. ... But I know who I am endorsing, who I'm getting behind, and that's all that matters."
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