NBA, WNBA players and teams look to get out the vote in a bitterly divided country

Four years ago, the 2020 U.S. elections, coming amidst the COVID-19 epidemic, and on the heels of multiple acts of police violence against Black people — the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, the killing of Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Ky., and the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wis. — were an inflection point for the world.

Although the NBA and its players were in a bubble in Orlando, they were not immune to the events in the world outside of that bubble. That year, worldwide protests crystallized the demands of people for change and for justice. NBA and WNBA players led protests in their cities, and the Milwaukee Bucks and Orlando Magic began a sportsworld-wide pause in August, refusing to play in a playoff game.

The stakes are just as high in this year’s election, which is a week away.

The Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, designed to stop the official certification of the 2020 election, the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision in the Dobbs case that overturned 50 years of settled law with regard to abortion rights granted in Roe v. Wade, President Joe Biden’s decision to drop out of the race, combined with the elevation of Vice President Kamala Harris to the top of the Democratic ticket, separate assassination attempts this summer on former president Donald Trump, and Trump’s inflamed rhetoric on immigration and other issues, have created a political frenzy as Election Day nears.

But few of the issues NBA and WNBA pressed for in 2020 have moved significantly nationwide in the last four years, including codifying greater voting access and limiting voter suppression efforts, along with attempts to curb police violence. The NBA’s Social Justice Coalition, a grouping of players, team governors, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and deputy commissioner Mark Tatum, has focused on legislation at the state level in areas of criminal justice, voting rights, policing and community safety.

This cycle, teams and players in both leagues are continuing to engage communities in team cities to get people registered to vote.

Among the most high-profile efforts is being led by WNBA star Nneka Ogwumike, the president of…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nba-wnba-players-teams-look-101608088.html

Author : The Athletic

Publish date : 2024-10-29 10:16:00

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