More Than a Vote is getting new leadership, and a new focus.
After LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers created the non-profit voting rights project, it will focus on women’s rights and reproductive freedom for the 2024 election. James will hand up leadership of the initiative to Nneka Ogwumike of the Seattle Storm, a WNBA player.
In order to help audiences understand the threat to women’s rights, More Than a Vote has also brought together a coalition of female athletes. Along with Madison Hammond of the NWSL, other athletes involved are fellow basketball players Cameron Brink, Chelsea Gray, Brittney Griner, Lisa Leslie, Jewell Lloyd, Chiney Ogwumike, Kiki Rice, Breanna Stewart, Sheryl Swoopes, and A’ja Wilson.
“Women’s sports have experienced incredible growth over the course of my 13-year career in the WNBA. But over that very same span, I’ve watched legislators chip away at my rights and the rights of every athlete who make these teams and leagues shine,” said Ogwumike in a statement. “We cannot stand idly by as women’s freedoms slip away, and that’s why I’m taking a lead through More Than A Vote to educate and prompt action around this issue. ‘We Decide Our Future’ sends a very clear message: no one else should have the power to make decisions over our bodies and our healthcare.”
According to the organization, LeBron James issued a call to action for Black players following the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor in 2020, which led to the founding of More Than a Vote. In addition to opposing police brutality and supporting criminal justice reform, the group worked with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund to combat voter suppression by enlisting poll workers and assisting in the conversion of ten arenas into polling places.
However, women’s rights are the issue that many people are most concerned about in 2024, thus the organization, which is currently led by Ogwumike, “will work with Reproductive Freedom for All Foundation to exclusively focus on women’s rights and reproductive freedoms with backing from Athletes for Impact.”
The organization outlined its new focus in a video Tuesday:
