The 10 most influential sports voices of 2020 What does it mean to be a "super-player activist" in such a complicated year

In this 2020, battered by problems of all kinds, a new category has emerged among athletes, the "activist super-player" as the New York Times defines them. The "new sports policy" is a very complex concept, but which finds its peak in this difficult year, recalling the times when Muhammad Ali, Jim Brown, Bill Russell or Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, were not mere athletes but players who fought for something beyond sport. It is increasingly clear that the role of athletes is expanding, with an ever greater centrality within the public debate.

LeBron James

"This is the time for us to finally make a difference" is a phrase that often came out of the mouth of LeBron Raymone James, NBA champion with the Lakers last season. The commitment that LBJ has made after Kobe's death seems to go far beyond the pitch. The "legacy" that wants to leave the favorite son of Ohio - a state that has some political weight in the US - has not only turned into its fourth link but also into the creation of an organization like "More Than a Vote" and in expanding the benefits offered by the “I Promised” school program. The voice he imposed - along with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Chris Paul during the boycott of the NBA games in the Orlando bubble - tells you how much James's voice continues to be influential in the sports and non-sports world. More than a player, in the literal sense of the word.

Bonus track - Flavio Tranquillo

Among the most important voices could not miss "The Voice" Flavio Traquillo, the voice of NBA basketball. Although for different reasons, the Sky journalist and author of the new book "The sport of tomorrow" by add editore belongs to this category for having strongly and tenaciously reiterated a sacrosanct concept that has escaped in these complex months: sport is a right and therefore must be guaranteed even in extraordinary situations such as those we still live today.