Do-Gooder

 In the world of politics, and sports, there was this news: Steph Curry suggested that, once his days of playing basketball are over, that he might consider a career off the court. "I have an interest in leveraging every part of my influence for good.”

Mister Curry, known to his friends, family and most of the rest of the planet as Steph, has already had a huge impact on the world around him. He used the occasion of the release of his second book for children, I Am Extraordinary, to discuss his future with a reporter from CBS News. Then there's the map of the Bay Area that is littered with signs of Steph's attention to the place that brought him to fame and fortune in the shape of playgrounds and youth programs. Oakland is the center of his Eat Learn Play Foundation that he and his wife started in 2019. Students there have been supported not just in healthy food and excellent equitable places to play, but in their efforts to ensure that every student can become a proficient reader by the end of third grade. 

If he didn't already have my vote for winning multiple championships for his adopted hometown, his generosity and activism would. For the past two years, I personally received a membership to Master Class, with an eye toward moving up the career ladder. Or taking a class from Gary Kasparov to improve my chess game. And while he continues to strive for another NBA title, he is creating scholarships for women's sports, and lifting them up to the level he believes they should be. 

Yes, I understand that nailing three pointers in the closing seconds of an NBA game is very different from creating public policy. There are plenty of actors, athletes and other nominal celebrities who have made forays into the political arena with widely varied results. But wouldn't it be nice to have a hero?

A hero who helps build playgrounds and lifts people up. A hero who remains committed to his ideals and manages to be a devoted family man while pursuing a career that has continually defied the odds? 

For now, there are no immediate plans for Steph to hang up his sneakers, but when he does, I will be ready. Ready to vote for someone who does good. And well.