The NBA has announced that all basketball arenas will be turned into polling sites for the upcoming presidential election.
After choosing to boycott Wednesday and Thursday nights’ playoff games, the players had several discussions with team governers and others in the league to discuss how they would go on with the season.
They decided to resume the playoffs games, but were working on finding ways they could take action. The NBA and its players ultimately landed on a few solutions.
In its first initiative, the teams will work to convert arenas into polling sites where people can safely vote amid the Coronavirus pandemic.
They will also find back-up locations in the event that deadlines to transform the arenas have passed.
The NBA will also establish a social justice commission that will work on “increasing access to voting, promoting civic engagement and advocating for meaningful police and criminal justice reform.”
In a final initiative, the advertisements played during the playoff games will be “dedicated to promoting greater civic engagement” in elections and “raising awareness around voter access and opportunity.”
Following the horrifying shooting of Blake, NBA players expressed their frustrations with racial injustices and police brutality experienced by the Black community. The ensuing walkouts were the first step toward making a change.
Some of the ballers, particularly LeBron James, have used their platform to encourage people to cast their ballots in the 2020 presidential elections.
Earlier this month, the Lakers player announced that his More Than a Vote organization was teaming up the Los Angeles Dodgers to turn the Dodgers stadium into a polling site on November 3rd.
“I’m really proud we were able to help the Dodgers become the first MLB stadium to open for voting,” James said at the time. “This is exactly why we created More Than A Vote. A lot of us now working together and here for every team who wants to follow the Dodgers’ lead and turn their stadium into a safer place for voting.”
More Than a Vote, which sets out to combat voter suppression, also raised over $100,000 to pay off former felons’ outstanding court fees so that they’ll be able to vote in the upcoming election.