--- title: LeBron James Endorses Hillary Clinton for President description: James cited Clinton’s policies on education and called her a “unifier” who could help put an end to violence canonical: https://time.com/4516105/lebron-james-endorses-hillary-clinton-obama/ author: Sports Illustrated article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-10-03T02:11:53.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T00:57:44.061Z article:section: Politics og:title: LeBron James Endorses Hillary Clinton for President og:description: "She will build on the legacy of my good friend, President Barack Obama” og:url: https://time.com/4516105/lebron-james-endorses-hillary-clinton-obama/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt59498e31e814cbbb/6988a8678e06015723467b2c/lebron-hillary.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: 2016-2016 Cleveland Cavaliers Media Day og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: LeBron James Endorses Hillary Clinton for President twitter:description: "She will build on the legacy of my good friend, President Barack Obama” twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt59498e31e814cbbb/6988a8678e06015723467b2c/lebron-hillary.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # LeBron James Endorses Hillary Clinton for President by [Sports Illustrated](https://time.com/author/sports-illustrated/) ## Sports Illustrated Oct 3, 2016 2:11 AM UTC  LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers at the Cleveland Clinic Courts in Cleveland, Ohio on Sept. 26, 2016. LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers at the Cleveland Clinic Courts in Cleveland, Ohio on Sept. 26, 2016.Michael J. LeBrecht II—NBAE/Getty Images by [Sports Illustrated](https://time.com/author/sports-illustrated/) ## Sports Illustrated Oct 3, 2016 2:11 AM UTC In an [op-ed for the ](http://www.businessinsider.com/lebron-james-why-endorsing-hillary-clinton-for-president-2016-9)[_Akron Business Journal_](http://www.businessinsider.com/lebron-james-why-endorsing-hillary-clinton-for-president-2016-9)which was given to Business Insider, Cavaliers star LeBron James endorsed Hillary Clinton for president of the United States. “I support Hillary because she will build on the legacy of my good friend, President Barack Obama,” James [wrote in the piece](http://www.businessinsider.com/lebron-james-why-endorsing-hillary-clinton-for-president-2016-9). “I believe in what President Obama has done for our country and support her commitment to continuing that legacy.” James cited Clinton’s policies on education and the fact that she is a “unifier” who can help put an end to violence as reasons for endorsing her. “I don’t know everything it will take finally to end the violence. But I do know we need a president who brings us together and keeps us unified,” James continued. “Policies and ideas that divide us more are not the solution. We must all stand together — no matter where we are from or the color of our skin. And Hillary is running on the message of hope and unity that we need.” James has [emerged as one of the NBA’s most high-profile voices on social and political issues](http://www.si.com/nba/lebron-james-cleveland-cavaliers-social-political-activism). He has spoken out after several police killings, and his charity launched a program in Aug. 2015 to help students attend college. The Presidential Election will take place on Nov. 8\. Ohio will be a pivotal state. _This_ [_article_ ](http://www.si.com/nba/2016/10/02/lebron-james-endorses-hillary-clinton-president-election)_originally appeared on_ [_si.com_](http://www.si.com/) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4516105/lebron-james-endorses-hillary-clinton-obama/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4516105/lebron-james-endorses-hillary-clinton-obama/"},"headline":"LeBron James Endorses Hillary Clinton for President","datePublished":"2016-10-03T02:11:53.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T00:57:44.061Z","description":"James cited Clinton’s policies on education and called her a “unifier” who could help put an end to violence","url":"https://time.com/4516105/lebron-james-endorses-hillary-clinton-obama/","keywords":["2016 Election","2016 Election topic","politics","celebrities"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt59498e31e814cbbb/6988a8678e06015723467b2c/lebron-hillary.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sports Illustrated","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sports-illustrated/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt59498e31e814cbbb/6988a8678e06015723467b2c/lebron-hillary.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"2016-2016 Cleveland Cavaliers Media Day","caption":"2016-2016 Cleveland Cavaliers Media Day","creditText":"Michael J. 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