Stephen Curry named Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Champion

Golden State Warriors guard StephenCurry has been named the 2022-23 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social JusticeChampion, the NBA announced today.

Curry was selected from a group offive finalistsfor his dedication to pursuing socialjustice and advancing Abdul-Jabbar’s life mission to engage,empower and drive equality for individuals and groups who have beenhistorically marginalized or systemically disadvantaged.

Curry prioritizes upliftingcommunities by fostering equity and creating access to opportunity.As a co-chair of former First Lady Michelle Obama’s “When We AllVote” initiative, Curry uses his platform to drive voterregistration, education and turnout, most recently during the 2022election season. His role encouraged millions of new voters toparticipate in the political process and make their voices heardthrough civic engagement. As part of his ongoing voting-relatedefforts, Curry participated in the National Basketball SocialJustice Coalition’s “Freedom to Vote” social-media campaignto help advocate for the passage oftheFreedom to Vote Act in the U.S. Senate. Curry isalso committed to raising awareness around issues of communitysafety, utilizing the Warriors’ 2023 White House visit to engagedirectly with President Biden and participate in a White Housepress briefing with head coach Steve Kerr to publicly address thematter.

Much of Curry’s work also focuses onsupporting underrepresented groups and reducing barriers toopportunity. In 2022, he graduated from Davidson College and wrotehis final thesis on gender equity in sports, an issue that anchorshis progressive and innovative ventures across the consumer,entertainment and non-profit spaces. Through UNDERRATED, Curry’slifestyle brand that empowers underrated and underrepresentedindividuals by opening doors for often-overlooked student-athletes,he creates equity, access and opportunity for basketball and golfathletes around the world to be seen by college recruiters, sportsagents and other industry leaders. UNDERRATED has also enabledfemale athletes to access the same opportunities as their malecounterparts, provided scholarships for athletes and offeredpersonal development programming for young people. Among theseefforts, Curry committed $6 million in funding to the men’s andwomen’s golf team at Howard University, which hadn’t been activefor 50 years.

Unanimous Media, Curry’s multimediacompany rooted in the mission to inspire audiences throughauthentic storytelling, is dedicated to collaborating withunderrepresented filmmakers, creators and writers across theentertainment industry.

Through Eat. Learn. Play., Curry’snonprofit co-founded with his wife Ayesha, Curry works to ensureevery child in Oakland has access to nutritious food they need tobe healthy and thrive, resources to foster a love for learning andreading, and safe places with equitable opportunities to play. Witha mission to address and overcome the systemic socio-economicbarriers facing underserved communities, Eat. Learn. Play. and itspartners continue making a positive impact in the lives of childrenand families in need. Over the last year, Eat. Learn. Play. hasprovided over two million meals and 500,000 books to Oaklandstudents, funded over 1,500 teacher-led classroom literacyprojects, remodeled four new playspaces complete with multi-sportcourts, playgrounds, gardens and murals, and more.

Curry has selected University of SanFrancisco Institute for Nonviolence and Social Justice, whichinvestigates, illuminates, and advances the theory and practice oftransformational nonviolence to confront and overcome injustice andsystemic violence and contribute to the just resolution of communalconflict, to receive a $100,000 contribution from the NBA on hisbehalf.

“I’m passionate about the work of theUniversity of San Francisco Institute for Nonviolence and SocialJustice and its commitment to overcoming injustice and systemicviolence through peace,” said Curry. “As an athlete, Iconsistently leverage my platform to amplify advocacy and addressthe pervasive issue of systemic racism. I firmly believe that wemust be vocal both on social media and in real life, takingtangible actions to effect real change in our society and forgenerations to come. Together, with the organization's co-founderand director, Dr. Clarence B. Jones, we have initiated meaningfulconversations around social justice with the school's student body,doubled the charity’s donations through my foundation Eat. Learn.Play.'s gift matching initiatives, and continued building on itsmission in my personal and professional life by holding peopleaccountable and promoting the principles of justice, fairness andequality today, tomorrow and in the future.”

The four other finalists – MemphisGrizzlies forward-center Jaren Jackson Jr., San Antonio Spurs guardTre Jones, Phoenix Suns guard Chris Paul and Boston Celtics forwardGrant Williams – will each receive $25,000 donations from the NBAto the following social justice organizations of their choosing:VisionC (Williams), The Girls Opportunity Alliance/The ObamaFoundation (Jackson), Children's Bereavement Center of South Texas(Jones) and the Social Change Fund United (Paul).

The winner of the Kareem Abdul-JabbarSocial Justice Champion award was determined by a selectioncommittee comprised of Abdul-Jabbar and notable social justiceleaders Director of The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in SportDr. Richard Lapchick, National Urban League President and CEO MarcMorial, UnidosUS President and CEO Janet Murguía, Rise Founder andCEO Amanda Nguyen and NBA Deputy Commissioner and Chief OperatingOfficer Mark Tatum. This year’s youth representative and Jr. NBACourt of Leaders member was Leah Harmon.