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| Coach Steve Kerr encourages NBA fans to vote |
In an unprecedented move, the NBA did not hold any games on Tuesday, November
8, Election Day. The move was announced on August 156, but it is the first
time that the league has altered its schedule in an effort to encourage voter
turnout.
This isn't the first time the NBA has taken steps to encourage civic
engagement among its fans and communities, though. Back in 2020, when access
to voting was limited because of the state of the pandemic, 14 teams used
their arenas or practice facilities as polling locations or voting centers.
NBA figures are using their voices to spread the message, as well. While the
Warriors were hosting the Sacramento Kings after a sequence of road games
that spanned 11 days, Warriors Head Coach Steve Kerr addressed the crowd
before the game. He pointed out that players across the league were wearing
shirts that tell fans to vote and that all Warriors players and coaches are
registered, encouraged fans to create a plan to get their vote out while the
polls are still open, and informed watchers that if they're not registered,
they have the ability to do so and vote tomorrow (in California).
The NBA, although it announced the schedule change well before both the
season and Election Day, has received some backlash from media and fans, who
claim that the worlds of sports and politics mustn't interfere with each
other. However, NBA teams plan an average of once every two days, so
scheduling a day off isn't harmful, nor does it lack precedent. Additionally,
the NBA is making sure to keep its recommendations nonpartisan, simply
encouraging a greater number of citizens to make a plan to vote.
The time that it takes to vote is a deterrent for many would-be voters.
Many, including myself, believe that Election Day should be a national
holiday to reduce this deterrent to voting. A major sports league using its
influence to encourage civic engagement is definitely a step in the right
direction for increasing voter turnout and accessibility.
Sources:
https://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/bulls/why-are-there-no-nba-games-election-day
https://theathletic.com/3772755/2022/11/07/nba-election-day-games/
https://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/bulls/ct-chicago-bulls-nba-election-day-schedule-20221107-ja5dseknrzgktgugxzk2n4e7ei-story.html
14 comments:
I think this move by the NBA is definitely a positive one. With this election being incredibly important, and election results having a major impact on all citizens, voting is a crucial act of civil engagement. It's great that organizations that are not directly political are recognizing this and using their platform to spread awareness. While there is backlash, I don't think that its well founded, because politics is a backbone of this country and it shouldn't be completely disconnected from other spheres of interests. Its great that all statements are non-partisan, as they prevent any anger from an already polarized fan-base.
I completely agree with Arav's comments-- personally, I think the argument that sports and politics shouldn't mix with another is simply implausible. I don't think sports and politics are necessarily mending together, but are merely making way for one another in accordance to priority. Election Day is drastically important to the lives of American citizens, and taking away deterrents such as a Warriors game is, in my eyes, a positive action that encourages voting (amongst younger demographics especially). A basketball game vs. election results that may change the lives of the American people... it seems quite blatantly obvious which event outweighs the other. Nevertheless, I hope to see actions similar to that of the NBA which encourages people to take Election Day more seriously.
I think we are all in agreement with the NBA and overall sentiments regarding election day. Elections are an important civic duty and more needs to be done on both the private and public sides to encourage it. 2020 is regarded as having record voter turnout in the modern era, even though this was still around 2/3. A large portion of eligible Americans are not voting and neglecting one of their most important duties as a citizen. The NBA made the right call, and the government should make election day a holiday or at least find other ways to encourage turnout and participation.
This is a great move by the NBA and should also be implemented in other sports and events. The United States continues to lag behind other democracies around the world in regard to voter turnout. This could be because many Americans are not politically educated, but it also could be attributed to people having to work/having other responsibilities on election day. In other nations like the UK, election day is a national holiday, while in other democracies election day is always on a weekend. Until we can implement these standards into our elections, I believe that the efforts of the NBA should be adopted by other sports in the United States so that we can boost participation in this civic duty.
This is a great step by the NBA. As one of, if not the biggest sports league in the United States, the NBA definitely has some pull in the national media. With America's voter turnout being relatively low, it is important that more people get out and vote, just like the NBA is advertising for. It is also fantastic how they are staying non-partisan. The league is making sure not to take sides in the election which is great, leaving the choices up to the voters themselves. That is another thing they have done well, allowing people to make their own decisions. They aren't forcing people to vote(though I'm not sure how they would), or telling them who to vote for, just simply telling people to get out and vote. I don't understand the backlash at all, election day should be taken much more seriously in this country, and with no basketball to watch, maybe more people will actually get out and vote.
The NBA making this move is an extremely influential aspect of today's society, and outlook on voting. Sports in general hold so much value too many many people all over the world, who find deep passion in the team that they support. I think that the NBA taking election day off to encourage citizens to vote is extremely valuable and an incredibly smart move. As America's voter turnout is low, the growth in popularity of sports, especially basketball is continuing to grow, and have an extreme impact on many people. Kids and new voters often look up to the players they are cheering for, and this is a great way to encourage them to vote. I also think it is great that although the NBA is promoting voting, they aren't being biased in who people should vote for. Personally I don't understand why there is backlash between whether or not sport and politics should be mixed, because in almost every sport there are some aspects of politics involved. Election day is an extremely powerful day in which citizens can use their individual powers, to vote for people they want running their country. I don't see what the problem is with a sports league, promoting this. I think people are almost taking sports promoting election day too far, in the sense that they think politics is going to be all over the basketball courts, when that is seriously the complete opposite of what is going on. The U.S is built upon citizens having freedom of speech and freedom to vote, so the NBA a very well loved and popular sports league, encouraging citizens to use their natural rights is purely just a way to emphasize these rights.
It's great that the NBA and the individual players are helping to promote voting. This is especially important for younger people, as voter turnout has been historically lower for this age group. This promotion can even help to encourage minors to later register to vote when they are old enough to do so since they see the support of voting through their favorite players. Additionally, it's great that the NBA hasn't taken a partisan stance on this issue, as increasing voter turnout as a whole should never be a partisan issue, as it's everyone's civic duty to vote and NBA fans have a wide range of political ideologies like the country as a whole.
I completely agree! America has a very low voter turnout, with only 50-60% of the eligible voting population voting in presidential elections during the last forty years. Like Andrew mentioned, young individuals (~age 18-24) tend to have a much lower voter turn out compared to older generations. Millions of people watch the NBA, the majority of which are younger individuals. The NBA will hopefully influence younger votes to vote for midterm elections by canceling their game, increasing the voter turnout rate for younger Americans. With 40.7 million followers on Twitter and 72.7 million followers on Instagram, the NBA can use their media platforms to encourage voting to millions of voters throughout the United States!
https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/statistics/data/voter-turnout-in-presidential-elections
Great job NBA. "Election Day" should be a national holiday and there should be an incentive to vote (i.e. tax rebates like Australia). The only reason an official "Election Day" holiday will never become a reality is that the Republican party relies on people NOT voting. If everyone in the US votes, the GOP will lose so many more elections. In essence, to retain power, the GOP relies on undemocratic principles.
I think it would be really interesting to see more data regarding the demographics of the people who disagree with the NBA's schedule change. This is pure speculation, but given the high voter turnout amongst older adults and the elderly compared to the much lower voter turnout of younger voters, I think the reasoning behind the backlash might be largely from Republicans, who are aware that if voting is encouraged, it will be those who lean towards the left of the political spectrum that will begin showing up to the polls more, thus reducing the chance of a Republican president.
Especially with low voter turnout during recent years, NBA with a large fanbase can be a good influencer to encourage voting. I agree with Catie that since most voters are of the older generation, higher voter turnout might include younger voters to change the balance of the voting spectrum, leading to fierce competition between candidates. The NBA and others, have the power to influence future generations with a common interest.
I believe this is a really good thing that the NBA did. The election is extremely important as it has a drastic impact on the citizens. In a way, an NBA game in my opinion could possibly be a distraction. Along with this NBA players can have a big influence on the younger generation swaying them to vote. This will hopefully increase voter turnout. I also like the fact that they are non-partisan leaving the choice to the voters. Overall having this day off can encourage more youth and even older people to go and vote.
This day off from NBA games is a very positive decision for all groups of people involved. Having an organization that has lots of influence on young people encourage voting is excellent, especially with the known lower voter turnout in the younger population. People criticize the NBA for doing this and getting "political," yet if they aren't endorsing candidates or showing any partisanship, they are only promoting democracy which is seen as positive by both parties in the US. Having these private organizations promote and encourage values is not a first-time event as many teams had different jerseys for the BLM movement, and while personally I full-heartedly agree with that decision, it was very controversial at the time so I can't see how people would get upset when they are simply encouraging people to exercise their democracy/
The idea for election day to be a national holiday is an interesting idea because it indeed is an important day where each citizen of America is able to be able to use their voice and their beliefs to choose a representative that they believe will be able to hold good leadership in their region. It’s really cool for the NBA to encourage everyone to vote by not having any games on November 8 because like me they believe that an increase in voter turnout is extremely important for everyone’s voice to be heard. Even if it's not everyone, there will be an increase in voter turnout this election season because people will now be more focused on the election, rather than basketball games.
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