Los Angeles 2024 today announced the appointments of NBA icon, Olympic gold medalist and business leader Earvin "Magic" Johnson and legendary labor leader María Elena Durazo as Vice Chairs of the city's Olympic and Paralympic candidature committee. The duo will join four-time Olympic swimming champion Janet Evans as Vice Chairs on the Board of Directors and will add their experience and expertise in sport, business and labor relations to the committee.
Earvin "Magic" Johnson, one of the greatest National Basketball Association athletes of all time and part of the USA basketball "Dream Team" at the Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games, will help LA 2024 harness the city's passion and enthusiasm for sport. Johnson is chairman and CEO of Magic Johnson Enterprises, which provides high-quality products and services that focus primarily on ethnically diverse and underserved urban communities through strategic alliances, investments, consulting and endorsements. After finishing his Hall of Fame basketball career, Johnson became an entrepreneur, a philanthropist and a motivational speaker. He is a partner of Guggenheim Baseball Management, and is part owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
María Elena Durazo is one of the most savvy and successful labor and immigrant rights leaders in America. She is currently the Vice President for Immigration, Civil Rights & Diversity for UNITE-HERE, and she previously led the second largest central labor body in the nation, the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO from 2006 until 2014. Before leading the Federation, Durazo was elected as President and built the hotel workers union UNITE-HERE, Local 11, into one of the most active unions in Los Angeles County. Her hard work led her to become the first Latina elected to the Executive Board of HERE International Union in 1996 and eventually in 2004, she became Executive Vice President of UNITE-HERE International. In 2003, Durazo became National Director of the Immigrant Workers’ Freedom Ride, a national mobilization campaign initiated by HERE International to address the nation’s immigration laws.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti welcomed the appointments, saying, "María Elena Durazo and Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson define what it means to be leaders. With their expertise in labor, business and sport, they bring a level of professionalism and diversity that is uniquely suited to help us bring the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games to Los Angeles. We’re thrilled to have these great Angelenos on our team as we advance our city’s bid and move to strengthen the Olympic Movement both at home and around the world."
LA 2024 Chairman Casey Wasserman said: "We couldn’t be prouder to welcome Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson and María Elena Durazo to our LA 2024 team. Together they bring a great diversity of talent and expertise, with each one addressing key aspects of the bid.
"Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson is not only one of the greatest athletes of all time; he’s also one of our city’s most successful business leaders. A 1992 Olympic Gold Medalist, he’s a true champion on and off the court, and his work in our community has set a new standard for Olympic legacy and post athletic career-path for sports superstars. That is precisely what the Olympic family is looking for right now under the visionary Olympic Agenda 2020.
"But our bid would not be possible if we did not have the support of the hard-working people of Los Angeles, California and the United States. That is why it is so important to welcome María Elena Durazo as Vice Chair. Her years of experience leading the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor and now in her current role as Vice President at UNITE HERE will help LA 2024 build on the city’s strong public support for the Games by engaging our working families and immigrant communities. With Durazo’s support and guidance, we’ll ensure that the benefits of the Games will be realized all across our city, and that no community will be left behind."
United States Olympic Committee CEO Scott Blackmun said, "We are excited to have both Magic and María Elena join LA 2024. Mayor Garcetti and Casey Wasserman have done a very good job of tapping into both LA's Olympic heritage and its thriving modern sports scene, and we look forward to working with all of the leaders of LA 2024 to return the Olympic and Paralympic Games to the United States."
Johnson said, "The only thing greater than bringing a sports championship to Los Angeles would be bringing the Olympics back to the best sports town in America. I was here for the 1984 Games, and I saw a city that was united and honored to welcome the world. As a former Olympian, I’m proud to join the LA 2024 team and give them ‘an assist’ in returning the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games to the United States."
Durazo said, "I am excited to join LA 2024 and work towards an Olympics that would be a celebration of our city’s diversity, as well as a boost for our working families and our economy. The support of our immigrant communities and our working families is vital to our bid’s success and I will work to make sure all hard-working Angelenos can participate in the Games if we’re fortunate to bring them to Los Angeles."
For more information on LA's Olympic bid, visit LA24.org
LA 2024 can also be found on the following channels:
Twitter.com/LA2024
Facebook.com/LA2024
Instagram.com/LA2024
YouTube.com/LA2024
20 Years at #1: Your best source of news about the Olympics is www.aroundtherings.com, for subscribers only
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