Cleveland (United States) (AFP)

When he arrived in the city of Cleveland, Steven Catudal, a good new citizen of Ohio, quickly wanted to register on the local electoral rolls, well motivated by the example given by the star of the NBA LeBron James , originally from this state in the north of the country of which he even became the unofficial ambassador.

In the hall where the Cleveland Cavaliers usually play, and where LeBron James has, for 11 years, earned his status as the best player of his generation, Steven Catudal was on Tuesday filling out paperwork to be on local rosters, such as 700 other new registrants.

He will vote in the presidential election on November 3, for which the mobilization of young voters will be a crucial factor.

"I think it's fantastic," said the 23-year-old business consultant from New York.

“These professional athletes are role models for people in the United States and around the world,” and “they are leading by example” by getting involved in the campaign and mobilizing voters.

"That these clubs and these athletes get involved and push young people - and others - to vote to shape the future of the United States, it's huge," Steven enthuses.

The possibility for basketball stars to politicize their speech, in the wake of the "Black Lives Matter" protests in the United States, was a condition for NBA players to resume the season after the break linked to the pandemic.

For LeBron James, kid from Akron, in the suburbs of Cleveland, the stake is particularly important: the vote of Ohio, won by Donald Trump in 2016, will be decisive in November.

Since 1964, this state has always voted for the future president.

And Tuesday, it is in Cleveland, a city known for its Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, that Joe Biden and Donald Trump will face each other during the first debate.

- But who is the example?

-

In addition to his charitable commitment, LeBron James has always given a political speech.

But in 2019, the comments of a reporter for the conservative Fox News channel, urging the Lakers player to "shut up and dribble", as it were.

He has since multiplied calls for mobilization, tweets and retweets the instructions for registration in the polling stations, and does not spare President Trump, who returns it to him well.

The latter confided to him preferring Michael Jordan, who, for his part, "was not in politics".

The "King" James recently teamed up with billionaire Michael Bloomberg, a one-time Democratic primary candidate, to pay $ 20 million in court costs for former Florida inmates, giving them the right to vote. .

The association co-founded by James, "More Than a Vote", helps transform NBA halls into polling stations, to find assessors or to ensure respect for electoral rights.

"Nothing will change if you stay on the sidelines," said the Lakers winger - who spins the sporting metaphor - in the association's latest commercial, broadcast during the NBA play-offs, the final phase of the North American basketball championship.

- "Icon" -

Frank LaRose, a Republican official from Ohio also from Akron, is on the board of "More Than a Vote", and welcomes this commitment.

He is one of the few Republicans who does not echo Donald Trump's baseless accusations that Democrats are rigging postal votes.

"The president's concerns are not valid here in Ohio," he told AFP.

Widening access to the right to vote, especially to minorities more likely to vote against Donald Trump, "is not a partisan issue", he believes, while LeBron James called again this week on Twitter to "support the black voters "by becoming an assessor in the polling stations.

The "LeBron James Family" recently built a school for underprivileged children in Akron, "I Promise", and a building named after it in the city's university.

Amy Mellinger, a 25-year-old master's student there, is also grateful to the basketball star.

“He's such an icon in Akron,” she explains.

"People are listening to it here. We need it."

LeBron James will have to be better understood this year than in 2016: in the last election, while he was still playing in Ohio, he campaigned for Hillary Clinton.

In vain.

© 2020 AFP