Professional athletes have an enormous capacity and desire to do good in the community, and to utilize their platform to work for meaningful change. ZS Public Affairs is proud to partner with professional athletes and other celebrities to assist in their philanthropic foundation work. In that role, ZS has developed expertise in assisting athletes and other celebrities in navigating the legislative process, and for lobbying for the individual’s legislative agenda.
Government Relations and Lobbying Services for Professional Athletes include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Monitoring and advocating for/against legislation as determined by ZS and the professional athlete;
- Drafting letters to legislative committees to further advocate our clients’ legislative agendas;
- Drafting and presenting testimony on behalf of our clients before legislative committees;
- Arranging meetings with members of the Maryland General Assembly, the Governor’s Office and relevant members and representatives of the Governor’s Administration, local legislators, and appropriate agency representatives to advocate the professional athlete’s position;
- Assisting our client with introductions to key stakeholders relevant to their respective business;
- Drafting and/or amending legislation on behalf of our client;
- Providing up-to-date analysis of current events and political developments that impact our client;
- Providing opportunities for our client to attend events designed to strengthen its relationship with Maryland’s state and local elected officials and agency representatives
Profile Client: The Bradley & Nikki Bozeman Foundation
The Bradley and Nikki Bozeman Foundation serves as a vehicle to promote charitable, philanthropic, and grassroots community activities. Bradley is a member of the Baltimore Ravens having been drafted in the sixth round of the 2018 NFL Draft. Prior to becoming a Raven, Bradley was the starting center on the National Champion Alabama Crimson Tide, where he served as a team captain. Nikki was the starting center for the University of Alabama Women’s Basketball team where she served as a team captain her last two years.
The Bradley and Nikki Bozeman Foundation seeks to make a difference in the lives of at-risk children and families with a focus on the dangers of childhood bullying. Bradley and Nikki’s personal experiences give them a platform to help adults and children learn how to recognize bullying, respond quickly and consistently to bullying behavior, and send a strong message that this type of behavior is simply not acceptable. Bradley and Nikki’s efforts help lend support to parents, school staff, and adults in the community to help prevent bullying behavior and create a safe school and community environment for our children. The Foundation seeks to help reinforce the importance of treating everyone with respect, standing up for others, and being true to yourself.
Bradley and Nikki spend significant time in classrooms all across Maryland spreading their message about the dangers of bullying and cyberbullying. They have given assemblies to thousands of students, and even took their message in 2020 across the country, stopping at schools all the way to the west coast and back.
Now, the Bradley and Nikki Bozeman Foundation is taking their activism to the next level. The Bozemans have partnered with ZS Public Affairs to lobby government for meaningful changes in the law to help stop the scourge of childhood bullying. Working with former Maryland State Senator Bobby Zirkin and his lobbying team, the Bozemans hope to expand on Maryland’s strongest-in-the-nation cyberbullying law “Grace’s Law 2.0” in Maryland, Alabama, Georgia, and beyond.
At ZS Public Affairs, we assist athletes like Bradley and Nikki Bozeman take their mission of social responsibility into the world of politics, using our expertise in the legislative realm to help athletes to enact real and lasting change in the law.