More than 900 NFL players have registered through the NFL Votes initiative ahead of election dayGETTY IMAGES
Teams and leagues across the world of sports "have rallied around a common theme -- encouraging Americans to register to vote," and in many cases, it "started with their own athletes," according to Schad & Armour of USA TODAY. The NBPA said that "more than 96% of its eligible players have registered to vote in this year's election, after fewer than 25% voted" in '16. The NFL and NFLPA on Wednesday said that "more than 900 players have registered through their joint initiative, NFL Votes." There are plenty of athletes "who will be casting a ballot for the first time." Seahawks S Quandre Diggs said, "Just the older I've gotten, the more I've understood the history and the fight that people before me took for us just to have the opportunity to vote. Just being able to have time to research and reflect on those things." Diggs acknowledged that this summer's protests "gave him additional motivation to vote" (USA TODAY, 10/30).
GET OUT AND VOTE: In North Carolina, John Henderson notes NBAers Chris Paul and Dennis Smith Jr. "led several hundred students Wednesday afternoon in a march" from Fayetteville State Univ. "across the street to the early-voting site at Smith Recreation Center." Paul has been "making his get-out-the-early-vote appeal" at HBCUs in North Carolina and is also "part of a coalition that says it is fighting attempts at voter suppression" (FAYETTEVILLE OBSERVER, 10/30). In Ft. Lauderdale, Swisher & Man note Joe Biden attended a "drive-in event at Broward College's north campus in Coconut Creek." Heat F Udonis Haslem "warmed up the crowd on Thursday," along with former NBAer Matt Barnes and T'Wolves C Karl-Anthony Towns. Haslem said, "For me, voter suppression is real. Coming together collectively we can win" (South Florida SUN SENTINEL, 10/30).
SIDES OF THE AISLE: ESPN’s Malika Andrews reported on research studying 160 owners across 125 teams in MLB, WNBA, NBA, NHL, MLS, NASCAR and NFL and examining “since 2015 what have their federal level donation looks like.” Owners have given $47M over the last five years and "overwhelmingly, owners donate towards Republican politicians.” In '20 alone, $10M went towards Republicans versus just $1.9M towards Democrats. Andrews said the NBA “that we think of as so socially progressive, we also know is overwhelmingly Republican in terms of the things they donate towards.” The “one league that did not skew Republican in terms of the causes they donated towards was the WNBA," which "did not surprise.” ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins: “I can’t judge anybody whether they vote Republican or Democratic, as long as their heart is in the right place.” ESPN’s Rachel Nichols said no one is "saying that all owners have to be one political party or the other." Nichols: "What this is about is if you make your money off of the talent and work and labor and sweat of people who are overwhelmingly in this league Black or Brown, you need to pay more consideration and attention to where you then spend the money” (“The Jump,” ESPN, 10/29).
