Warriors' Stephen Curry Wins 2023 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Champion Award
Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry was named the recipient of the 2022-23 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Champion award, the NBA announced Tuesday.
The NBA will donate $100,000 to the University of San Francisco Institute for Nonviolence and Social Justice in Curry's honor as a result of the win.
Memphis Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr., San Antonio Spurs guard Tre Jones, Phoenix Suns guard Chris Paul and Boston Celtics forward Grant Williams were the other finalists for the honor. The NBA will donate $25,000 in their honor to their respective charities.
"I'm passionate about the work of the University of San Francisco Institute for Nonviolence and Social Justice and its commitment to overcoming injustice and systemic violence through peace," Curry said in a statement. "As an athlete, I consistently leverage my platform to amplify advocacy and address the pervasive issue of systemic racism. I firmly believe that we must be vocal both on social media and in real life, taking tangible actions to effect real change in our society and for generations to come.
"Together, with the organization's co-founder and director, Dr. Clarence B. Jones, we have initiated meaningful conversations 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 its mission in my personal and professional life by holding people accountable and promoting the principles of justice, fairness and equality today, tomorrow and in the future."
The NBA Social Justice Champion award was established ahead of the 2020-21 season to honor Abdul-Jabbar's "life mission to engage, empower and drive equality for individuals and groups who have been historically marginalized or systemically disadvantaged."
Curry joins Carmelo Anthony (2020-21) and Reggie Bullock (2021-22) as the first three winners of the honor. The Warriors star worked with former First Lady Michelle Obama's "When We All Vote" initiative ahead of the 2022 midterm election to improve voter turnout in underrepresented communities and met with President Joe Biden to bring awareness to community safety initiatives.
