A bold step for change
When National Basketball Association teams boycotted playoff games last week to protest the shooting of Jacob Blake, players expressed the desire to take concrete action for real change. With November right around the corner, it was encouraging to see players focus on protecting the right to vote in 2020.
The players and the league agreed to turn NBA arenas into polling places for the November election, as part of an accord to resume postseason play on Saturday. It’s also a move to fight voter suppression ahead of November’s vote, by improving access to safe, in-person voting. Also in the new agreement, NBA leadership said they would form a social justice coalition and create new advertising that promotes "greater civic engagement in national and local elections."
All this began after the Milwaukee Bucks refused to play their playoff game against the Orlando Magic last Wednesday, in protest of the Aug. 23 police shooting of Blake, an unarmed Black man, in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Multiple gunshots from an officer left him paralyzed, and a state investigation is ongoing.
On Wednesday, events moved quickly: The Magic and other NBA teams followed the Bucks’ lead, and all that day’s games were postponed. Then other leagues joined the walkout, including the Women’s National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball and Major League Soccer. The National Hockey League postponed playoff games later in the week, and some National Football League teams cancelled practices. With Thursday’s NBA games also postponed, the players met that day and agreed to continue the playoffs Saturday after the league agreed to the now-released plan.
The Bucks’ action led to an unprecedented moment in sports, when players took the reins completely, and forced the national spotlight to re-focus on racial justice and the importance of voting. If people want to make the biggest difference this year, it will be at the ballot box. The NBA’s strong, collective voice will have an important national impact, and the recent agreement with its players is a great step forward to ensure all people have access to the vote. This is the kind of decisive action the country needs in order to affect true change.
— Gareth Henderson
