Whether it’s Trump vs. Biden or social injustices, college athletes motivated to get out and vote

More than 70 million Americans already have cast a ballot ahead of Tuesday’s election, many of those young people eligible to vote for the first time or who just could not be bothered to take time out of their social schedule to stand in line.

Among those are college athletes who have decided their voices can be powerful and they no longer will “shut up and dribble.”

“I feel like that it’s extremely important (to vote), especially now that we’re coming of age,” Florida Gators running back Malik Davis said. “Every vote makes a difference.”

These movements, whether in the form or protests or voter registration rallies, have been sparked by several factors, including a contentious presidential election between Republican Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger Joe Biden, a summer filled with protests over social injustices and a global coronavirus pandemic that has become politicized.

The NCAA even took notice, making Election Day an athletic holiday by approving a measure that states Division I athletes will not be required to participate in “countable athletically related activities” on the first Tuesday after Nov. 1 every year, beginning in 2020.

The legislation was proposed by the Division I Student-Athlete Advisory Committee to allow athletes to participate in civic engagement, including voting or community service.

“It gives our players who may not have a chance to vote – there’s no telling what the lines will be like on election day – it gives them an opportunity to get out there and to do it,” Miami Hurricanes coach Manny Diaz said. “This is a great chance to express one of the great things of what it means to be an American and have their voice heard, whatever side they are on, and be a part of the democratic process.”

Hundreds of FSU students and community members marched from Doak Campbell Stadium to the Capitol Building this summer as part of the Unity Walk organized by Florida State football players to protest police brutality, which disproportionately affects Black Americans. (Hali Tauxe / Tallahassee Democrat / Imagn Content Services)

Diaz has the perspective of having been around politics his entire life with his father, Manny, the mayor of Miami from 2001-2009. Not so for Florida’s Dan Mullen, who is more focused on his job and winning football games.

Mullen is not happy the NCAA is forcing coaches to adjust their schedules. The Gators coach is under pressure after losing at Texas A&M three weeks ago and then saying he’d like the university to ignore its own guidelines for fighting the pandemic and allow 90,000 fans into Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. That was followed by the Gators being forced to postpone two games after an outbreak within the team and Mullen announcing two weeks ago he tested positive for COVID-19.

Mullen this week lamented having to go a day without practice to allow players who have been unable to vote to cast their ballot. He said early voting, which he took advantage of, allows the players enough of an opportunity without having to disrupt his schedule on election day.

“I wasn’t a big fan with the NCAA doing that,” Mullen said during the SEC teleconference. “It throws you completely off your game-week routine, which obviously to me is very dangerous.

“Normally we’re off on Sunday and that’s a day of rest and recovery after a game. We can’t do that now. We have got to go immediately into preparation for the next game. We have to make sure our guys are prepared and safe for the game. It’s really kind of thrown that off.”

That next game happens to be against Georgia, Florida’s biggest SEC rival.

The polarizing event sparking the nationwide movement came on Memorial Day when George Floyd, a Black man, died in Minneapolis while a white police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes. That spurred a generation of young people to become more socially aware and realize one of the ways to make sure things change is to vote.

And with sports in a global timeout this summer because of the pandemic, athletes across the nation used that down time to register to vote. Team leaders arranged for their teammates to sign up as a group, which led to scenes like the one at Missouri, where more than 60 football players marched from campus to the Boone County Courthouse in Columbia to register.

Or at Florida, where the Gators had a full-team voter registration drive. Or at Florida State where tight end Cam McDonald sat outside the locker room with a voter registration application and a guide to make sure teammates understood the process.

“It’s been something that has been constant throughout the semester, not just with our football team, with our athletic department,” Florida State coach Mike Norvell said. “We try to keep those reminders for them and just encourage them that this is an opportunity for you to have a voice and to be able to use that voice for a significant impact. It’s been nice seeing our guys really embrace that.”

Diaz said Miami’s social justice council, headed by running backs coach Eric Hickson, has succeeded in getting every football player registered to vote. And while the presidential election has energized the country, Diaz is making sure his players understand voting is much more than showing up at the polls every four years to elect the leader of our country.

“We’re trying to really explain to our players the ins and outs of local government,” he said. “I think everybody understands what it means to elect a president. I don’t know that our players have the understanding of who is in charge of what on the local ballot.

“A lot of what occurs in our community is dictated by the local governments, county and city. We don’t spend enough time on that. Who’s accountable if I don’t like something in my community? A lot of our guys don’t know.”

Florida linebacker James Houston said similar conversations are happening within the Gators team.

“We get in our little groups and talk politics,” Houston said.

The culmination of the movement and the registration initiatives comes Tuesday. But the push to vote started weeks ago. Coaches and players stressed voting early anticipating a chaotic election day.

And with Florida a tight battleground state for such an important presidential election, young people more than any other time could make a difference.

“We’re really encouraging our guys to go early vote,” FAU coach Willie Taggart said. “I know Tuesday we won’t do anything football-wise to allow those guys to go out and vote. … but we’re really encouraging them to go early vote and, if they have time, to go do it now. We have an early voting station here on campus, so it would be great for our guys to go over and knock that out.

“I voted. Done deal.”

Curt Weiler (Tallahassee), Graham Hall (Gainesville) and Reese Furlow (Boca Raton) contributed to this report.