Secures ‘Real Change’ for Voting Rights
“Don’t give into something that hasn’t happened. Keep pushing, keep working.”
August 28, 2020
An empty court and bench is shown following the scheduled start time in Game Five of the Eastern Conference First Round between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Orlando Magic during the 2020 NBA Playoffs at AdventHealth Arena at ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex on August 26, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. The Milwaukee Bucks have boycotted the game reportedly to protest the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin. (Screenshot)Following a multi-team strike protesting police brutality and systemic racism in the wake of the shooting of Jacob Blake earlier this week, players and league officials reached a deal Friday to resume the NBA playoffs, and agreed to use the league’s stadiums as voting locations for the November general election.
In a statement, National Basketball Players Association executive director Michele Roberts and NBA commissioner Adam Silver listed three developments that resulted from talks with players and league leaders over the past couple of days.
The deal includes establishing a social justice coalition—with representatives from players, coaches, and governors—to be focused on “increasing access to voting, promoting civic engagement, and advocating for meaningful police and criminal justice reform.” In addition, the league will sponsor advertising spots during each playoff game “promoting greater civic engagement in national and local elections and raising awareness around voter access and opportunity.”
The portion of the deal that has earned the most attention is the agreement to use NBA stadiums as voting centers in the upcoming November election.
This is how we change the culture around voting.
Proud to be working with teams and players (like @TheNBPA president and our co-chair @CP3) across the @NBA and @WNBA.
Make your voice heard and get registered: https://t.co/FZtPx93oQy https://t.co/3FvDvOcgbe
— When We All Vote (@WhenWeAllVote) August 28, 2020
“In every city where the league franchise owns and controls the arena property, team governors will continue to work with local elections officials to convert the facility into a voting location for the 2020 general election to allow for a safe in-person voting option for communities vulnerable to Covid,” the statement reads. “If a deadline has passed, team governors will work with local elections officials to find another election-related use for the facility, including but not limited to voter registration and ballot receiving boards.”
Players, journalists, and civil rights advocates celebrated the announcement as details continue to emerge about the police shooting of 29-year-old Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin Sunday.
Blake is alive and recovering in a hospital but is paralyzed from the waist down, according to his family. At a protest decrying his shooting on Tuesday night, a white 17-year-old gunman killed two people and injured another.
“We’re all tired of just seeing the same thing over and over again,” Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Chris Paul said in an interview. “And everybody just expects us to be OK just because we get paid great money. We’re human. We have real feelings and I’m glad we got a chance to get in a room together to talk to one another.”
"We're just tired of seeing the same thing over and over again."
CP3 discusses the NBA coming together to fight for real change.
(via @NBAonTNT)pic.twitter.com/7BGbYlCNXS
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) August 28, 2020
“NBA players are doing more to make voting accessible than our own government,” Democratic strategist and journalist Max Burns tweeted.
The NBA players strike delivered RESULTS.
Team owners agreed to use stadiums as voting locations.
This is a big deal and could allow many thousands of people to safely vote in person. https://t.co/qhCaEnJr4m
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) August 28, 2020
Doc Rivers on how “the progression was absolutely perfect” over the 3 meetings the last two days. Even saying he didn’t think the first meeting “went well” but told the players “this is a powerful moment, you are learning how powerful you can be.” pic.twitter.com/OLylpnGoWJ
— Cassidy Hubbarth (@CassidyHubbarth) August 28, 2020
This is incredible! Thank you NBA and the great and Talented NBA players. https://t.co/y5T4nYS8fE
— Mark Ruffalo (@MarkRuffalo) August 28, 2020
“Just because something hasn’t happened doesn’t mean it can’t happen,” Doc Rivers, former NBA player and coach of the Los Angeles Clippers, told Yahoo! Sports. “Don’t give into something that hasn’t happened. Keep pushing, keep working.”
“We needed a moment to breathe. It’s not lost on me that George Floyd didn’t get that moment,” Rivers continued, referring to the 46-year-old Black man who died after a Minnesota police officer held his knee on Floyd’s neck for several minutes in May. “But we did, and we took it, and the players took it… I slept very well last night, thinking that our young people spoke. That was fantastic.”
This article published by Common Dreams on August 28, 2020, here…
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