This week, NBA superstar LeBron James and his LeBron James Foundation officially opened House Three Thirty to help families in the Akron, Ohio community obtain job training. Inside that building will be a Starbucks Community Store, which has led to a call to action from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).
Lisa Lange, senior vice president of PETA, wrote a letter to the Los Angeles Lakers superstar and the foundation requesting that the new Starbucks location become the coffee chain’s first-ever dairy-free location, claiming that the store’s upcharge for vegan milk “perpetuates dietary racism.”
“This policy unjustly penalizes millions of lactose intolerant Americans, particularly people of color, since around 80% of Black and Indigenous Americans and more than 90% of Asian Americans are affected,” Lange wrote. “We believe that no one should be punished for wanting to make a more compassionate and environmentally conscious choice. That’s why I’m urging you to make a game-changing play by insisting that the Starbucks store at House Three Thirty be the chain’s first dairy-free location.”
Lange claims that this change would “create ripple effects” across the entire industry for generations to come.
“The first dairy-free Starbucks location at House Three Thirty would set a precedent for socially responsible business practices and create ripple effects that would affect society in a positive way for generations to come. I hope you’ll consider my request. We could team up to make a positive change for animal welfare, the environment, and those who suffer from lactose intolerance.”
LeBron has not responded and likely won’t do so anytime soon as he and the Lakers are trying to fight for better playoff positioning.
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In one of their most important games of the season, the Lakers came up short against the rival Clippers at Crypto.com arena. LeBron James and Anthony Davis, who hadn’t played in back-to-back games since November, suited up to try and defeat the Clippers, but they ended up getting blown out instead. The result ended up being one of the poorer performances that the team has had in recent weeks.
Wednesday’s loss doesn’t completely end the Lakers’ chances of grabbing one of the top six seeds in the Western Conference. They sit just one game back of the Clippers and Golden State Warriors, who sit in the No. 5 and No. 6 seeds.
For the Lakers to avoid the play-in tournament, they need to go 2-0 in their upcoming games against the Suns and Jazz. They would also need the Warriors to go 1-1 against the Kings and Trail Blazers.
