With COVID-19 still placing a firm grip on our daily lives, the ‘normal’ routine we were all accustomed to before this pandemic has been hard to find for many of us. Different work schedules, social isolation, and struggling to find ways to enjoy the great weather we have seen recently surely have taken a toll on us all. Personally, I have managed all those things well, but that does not mean I have not been effected. My favorite activity, what I have invested my collegiate career on has been taken away from me for too long; what I am referring too is, of course, good old sports. On July 30th the NBA world began to turn once again with games taking place in a locked-down bubble in Disney Worlds ESPN Sports Complex. This effort to get the NBA back on track was directly driven by the Nba Players union and efforts from players across the country. As they were setting their requests for what would take place in Orlando, one message that was consistent among all of the players was that they needed a voice to support the social issues that have come up during the pandemic. Mainly the Black Lives Matter movement and other racial and socioeconomic factors that relate to systematic segregation based on race. 

Players have the ability to chose a small slogan to wear on the top of their jerseys where their name would normally be located, and the name was moved to the bottom. The short messages include Black Lives Matter; Say Their Names; Justice; Education Reform; I Am A Man; and Vote. 

Sitting there watching the game, I got so excited when I saw the words ‘Vote’ spread across the back of the jersey. What a great connection to our topic! Then it got even better. The announcers started talking about a foundation LeBron James and other notable NBA players and Artists had been working on creating called ‘More Than A Vote’. Their message is to “combat systematic, racist voter suppression by educating, energizing, and protecting our community in 2020”. Their goal is to not only get the black community to vote, but to educate them about the ways they are being held back and encouraged not to vote, and how to combat this. One of their main goals is to use NBA arenas that are now empty, as a way to still be able to complete in-person voting while following CDC social distancing guidelines. Players like Damian Lillard, Draymond Green, Chris Paul, and Jalen Rose (just to name a few) have all signed off on the movement. The idea is to spread awareness through familiar faces in the NBA and music community while using the NBA’s connections to arenas and personnel to work on real-world ways to make voting easier for disenfranchised communities. Teams like the Detroit Pistons and the Atlanta Hawks have already election officials approval to use their arenas for the primary elections. 

Another small example of their organization’s work is seen in their efforts in fighting the ban for convicted felons to vote in Florida. As of right now if you are a convicted felon in Florida you have a life long ban from voting with no exceptions. The More Than A Vote foundation donated $100,000 to the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, a group committed to overturning this law. This is all just the tip of the ice burg, with the voice of these players and the funding from them and some of the most valuable sports teams across the country the opportunities are endless. 

    If you are interested in learning more about voter suppression, or just voting in general please take a moment to check out our website Action4Oregon. Thank you!

Sources:
https://blacklivesmatter.com/
https://www.morethanavote.org/
https://nba.nbcsports.com/2020/06/10/lebron-james-forms-organization-to-help-grow-protect-black-voting-rights/
https://nba.nbcsports.com/2020/07/02/lebron-james-voting-rights-group-converting-arenas-into-polling-places/
https://floridarrc.com/
https://www.fox23.com/news/trending/lebron-james-organization-more-than-vote-donate-100000-so-felons-florida-can-vote/BGG6TUFOJ5HKFGPX7B4JVHMKIQ/
https://deadline.com/2020/07/nba-approves-social-justice-messages-for-player-jerseys-1202977533/