MVP Champion. All-Star. Olympic Gold Medalist. These are just some of the accolades that NBA star Stephen Curry has stacked up throughout his profession on the courtroom. And now, you possibly can add EBONY Energy 100 Chief In Sports activities to the checklist.
Whether or not he’s in your Mount Rushmore of the NBA’s best or not, you possibly can’t deny Curry’s impression on the sport. What was as soon as a league dominated by post-play has advanced into high-scoring shootouts pushed by the three-point shot.
For many athletes, being one of many faces of the sport, securing sneaker offers and cashing in on endorsement checks can be sufficient. Nevertheless, Curry is busy securing change. And he’s doing it in a manner that transcends basketball and reshaping what it means to be a contemporary athlete. Let’s preserve it actual, although: he’s additionally no stranger to profitable endorsement offers. Subway, anyone?
Letting His Sport Off the Courtroom Communicate For Itself
In 2019, along with his spouse, Ayesha Curry, he co-founded Eat. Be taught. Play., a basis that addresses childhood starvation, will increase literacy and promotes wholesome dwelling—all of which have long-term, far-reaching results. The Eat. Be taught. Play. literacy initiative goals to lift $25 million over the following 5 years to assist bridge the studying hole for teenagers in Oakland, California, who’re two or extra grade ranges behind.
Stephen and Ayesha Curry. Picture: Eat. Be taught. Play. Basis
This isn’t about “serving to a number of youngsters and calling it a day.” That is about impacting over 10,000 college students and making a ripple impact to make sure they’ve the instruments to achieve each the classroom and life.
The Subsequent Era of Athlete Activism
Let’s face info: the world is consistently altering. There was a time after we didn’t put an excessive amount of emphasis on an athlete’s politics or social activism. We was once happy with simply getting maintain of their rookie card and, if we had been fortunate, a knock-off model of their jersey for Christmas. However right this moment’s athletes should not simply posters hanging up on our childhood bed room partitions.
A lot might be mentioned about right this moment’s athletes and their social consciousness. There are lots of causes many would select to not have interaction. All it takes is one misconstrued sound byte, and issues may go sideways. Nobody needs to fumble the bag, particularly with multi-million greenback contracts on the road.
However, for these like LeBron James, Naomi Osaka, Colin Kaepernick and others, the times of simply “shutting up and dribbling” are lengthy gone. At this time’s athletes have picked up the torch—regardless of being ridiculed, blacklisted and even threatened—and are utilizing their platforms to struggle for equality, justice and actual societal change similar to these earlier than them.
Entrance Row: (l-r) Invoice Russell, Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali), Jim Brown and Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar). Picture: Getty Photos.
And Curry’s on the forefront of this subsequent era. His philanthropic work isn’t only a ardour venture—it’s a pure extension of his affect as one of many world’s most well-known athletes.
What Curry understands—and what makes his impression a lot extra highly effective—is that his success on the courtroom amplifies his means to make a distinction. Like a silky-smooth give-and-go, a record-breaking shooter can attain hundreds of thousands with a single tweet, a viral video or a charity marketing campaign. Simply as we’ve seen him do on the courtroom, Curry’s not afraid to run round that display screen, catch the go, sq. up, and let it fly for the causes he believes in.
As a result of right here’s the true shot Curry’s taking: he’s proving that true greatness isn’t nearly dominating the sport—it’s about making the world a greater place for everybody. That’s the sort of legacy nobody can ever deny.
