Former First Lady Michelle Obama was scheduled to meet with NBA and WNBA players on Sunday afternoon to discuss the vote, said Oklahoma City Thunder star and Players Association president Chris Paul.
Obama’s push to vote came just 100 days after the November election day, part of the “When We All Vote” campaign. He announced Sunday that he has already registered 100,000 new voters through that campaign and hopes to double that number before November.
“We will talk about the importance of voting and making sure your voice is heard,” said Paul after their scrimmage on Sunday, via The Oklahoman. “And I think it’s very important that we’re doing it together, right? Not just NBA players, not just WNBA players, but we’re doing it together. We can share stories and know how they feel about each other.”
“Hearing women talk is powerful, it is powerful. I have a wife, obviously I have a mother, but above all I have a daughter. I have to protect her and make sure that she too has defended, so great delivery to women and what they are doing.”
NBA, NBPA which forms the foundation with a commitment of $ 300 million
Paul also talked about forming a joint foundation between the league and the players union on Sunday, something he hopes to start with a $ 300 million commitment from the NBA.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said discussions on the foundation’s launch are in an “intense” phase, according to Marc Stein of the New York Times. The foundation has yet to be approved, although a formal short vote is expected. The goal, according to the report, is to help support economic empowerment in the black community.
Players are also expected to be allowed to determine where that money will go – yet another push by players to help make social changes across the country while playing in the Walt Disney World bubble.
“We said we wanted to see more blacks and browns in front offices, more blacks in positions of power – not just coaches,” said Paul, via The Oklahoman. “We are talking about heads of organizations. We want to see it, and we talked about it with the championship. There are some things we wanted to see happen. The jerseys are part of it, but we know that we need the money and funding to really make the change.
“I will continue to say it until, I will shoot, until I am no longer here, how proud I am of our boys and our league for having accepted the challenge.”
More from Yahoo Sports:
