(Spring Lake, NJ - June 8, 2017) New Jersey resident and current Fourth District (Monmouth, Ocean, Mercer) candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives, Jim Keady, will be in the lineup of speakers this weekend at the People’s Summit in Chicago, Illinois. Keady, a former professional soccer player and Division I college coach will be part of the panel discussing Athletics, Activism, and Social Change.
“I am deeply humbled to be taking part in this historic summit,” said Keady. “This is a national gathering of some of the most dynamic public servants and social change agents in the United States. To be able to discuss one of my passions – athletics, activism and social change – on a national platform like this is incredibly exciting.”
Keady was chosen to be part of a national lineup of speakers that includes Vermont Senator, Bernie Sanders; Activist/Songwriter, Joan Baez; Author, Naomi Klein; Journalist, Shaun King and dozens of other progressive leaders discussing topics ranging from protecting voting rights, to pay equity for women, to single-payer healthcare, to immigration reform. The panel Keady will take part in will be moderated by Dave Zirin, sportswriter for The Nation. Along with Zirin, Keady will be joined on the panel by Craig Hodges, two-time NBA Champion and three-time NBA three-point shooting champion; and Julie Dicaro, anchor/host/sportswriter CBS-Chicago.
Keady first gained national attention with regard to athletics and activism in 1997 while he was an assistant men’s soccer coach at St. John’s University (NYC), the NCAA Division I defending national champions. The school was negotiating a $3.5 million dollar endorsement deal with Nike while Keady was writing a paper for his graduate degree in theology about Nike’s labor rights abuses. His two worlds of sports and theology came crashing together – and it changed his life forever.
Keady refused to wear the Nike gear because he believed Nike was blatantly exploiting the poor. He ferociously contested the school’s involvement with the sportswear giant sparking one of the hottest debates in campus history. Eventually he was given an ultimatum, “wear Nike and drop this issue, or resign.” Keady resigned in protest – but he was not done there. He would eventually move to Indonesia to live with Nike factory workers, attempting to survive on their sweatshop wages in a rat-infested, 9x9 cement box in the outskirts of Jakarta.
“My stand of conscience has led me on a twenty-year odyssey from the slums of Southeast Asia, to the board rooms at Nike’s global headquarters, to the classrooms of more than 500 campuses across the United States," said Keady. “This weekend it takes me to Chicago to represent the people of NJ’s #FightingFourth district.”
To learn more about the People’s Summit visit www.thepeoplessummit.org and for more on Jim Keady visit www.jimkeady.com.
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