LeBron James’s charitable foundation and business partner Maverick Carter will donate $2.5 million for a new exhibit, “Muhammad Ali: A Force for Change ,” about the legendary boxer at the recently opened Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington.
“Muhammad Ali is such a cornerstone of me as an athlete because of what he represented not only in the ring as a champion but more outside the ring — what he stood for, what he spoke for, his demeanor,” James told USA Today Sports. “I think of him every day. Without his passion and goals and morals, I don’t know if I’d be sitting here today talking to you about it.”
The Cleveland Cavaliers superstar has been a longtime admirer of Ali for his boxing skills, and his penchant for speaking out against racial injustice, which James is doing as well. Ali passed away June 3 at the age of 74 after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease. James was playing in the NBA Finals at the time and spoke emotionally about how Ali’s life had affected his own.
“So many thoughts come to my mind when I think about the man who passed away yesterday,” James said at the time. “What he represented, as a kid, I gravitated towards him because he was a champion, but I only knew as a kid what he did inside the ring. As I got older and started to be more knowledgeable about sport in general and about the guys who paved the way for guys like myself, I understood that he is the greatest of all time, and he was the greatest of all-time because of what he did outside of the ring. Obviously, we knew how great of a boxer he was, but I think that was only 20 percent of what made him as great as he was.”
James’s donation will go towards adding historical context and memorabilia to the Ali exhibit. It will span two portions of the museum and focus on both the champion boxer’s career in the ring and his social activism out of it, according to USA Today’s Jeff Zillgit.
“His support will help us to continue the story of Muhammad Ali and will encourage athletes to realize how important athletics is in terms of social justice,” museum founding director Lonnie Bunch told Zillgitt. “It’s also really important that actions like this by Mr. James encourage younger athletes and people with means to recognize the philanthropy and paying homage to those who went before, how crucially important that is.”
James will join the list of founding donors, which includes two NBA Hall of Famers. Michael Jordan donated $5 million. Magic Johnson and his wife Cookie donated at least $1 million.
James has garnered an extensive charitable portfolio through his LeBron James Family Foundation. He launched Wheels for Education, which works with third-graders in Akron to keep them on target to get high school diplomas. He has given away bikes, laptops, backpacks with school supplies and more to the children. James also pledged four-year scholarships to 1,100 students in his program to the University of Akron. Those students are currently in the eighth grade and must meet academic and community service requirements to qualify. The foundation also announced the I Promise Institute at the University of Akron, aimed at making the transition to college life easier for students and their parents. James is currently working on a legacy of his own.
