NFL
By: Zachary Draves
In one day, Americans will go to the ballot box to cast their votes in what is destined to be a highly contentious yet potentially transformative midterm election. The anticipation is palpable, the polls have become unbearable, and the tension is tantalizing. Typically during midterms, voters tend to be more apathetic compared to a presidential election especially among young people, but one group is at least trying to buck that trend.
All Vote No Play is a movement led by athletes, coaches, and administrators to equip NCAA athletes with all the tools that are needed to become civically minded and engaged. In June 2020, following the murder of George Floyd and the subsequent racial justice movement, Georgia Tech assistant basketball coach Eric “Rev” Reveno devised a plan to get his players registered to vote after noticing a lack of civic participation among college students at large.
(Courtesy: Georgia Tech Athletics)
Like most ideas in this social media age, it started with a tweet. Reveno posted “Federal election day, Nov 3rd, needs to be a NCAA mandatory off day. We must empower, educate and guide our athletes to be part of the change. We need action. There is symbolism in every holiday and it’s powerful.”
At that time, he consulted with his boss, head coach Josh Pastner, who gave him the green light to pursue this project. Then he got in contact with some friends and colleagues including Gonzaga’s head coach Mark Few who was completely on board. Eventually the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) took up the idea and unanimously approved it.
During that election cycle, more than 1,200 Division 1 coaches signed a pledge outlining their commitment to registering their players to vote.
From there, that small effort eventually blossomed into a large-scale initiative named All Vote No Play, which helped register thousands of college athletes to vote, the NCAA Student Athlete Advisory Committee overwhelmingly approved legislation making Election Day a mandatory day off, and culminating in the NCAA itself following suit and making that rule official.
That rule has since been amended to where teams that are in the throes of their postseason are required to participate in civic engagement at least fifteen days prior to Election Day. Whereas other teams that are not in postseason play still have practices and games off on Election Day.
Coming into this year, some of the major players behind this initiative are back and in full swing. Among those are two of the co-founders Holy Cross assistant basketball coach Joe Kennedy and Stanford business professor, civic futurist, designer Lisa Kay Solomon.
Kennedy can be characterized as a basketball coach by day and a political junkie by night. He has worn many hats during his career including coaching stints at Northwestern and Holy Cross as well as being a special assistant in the White House Office of Public Engagement from January 2009-October 2010. It was during that time that he helped to spearhead outreach programs with sporting organizations at all levels. He also worked on then First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! Campaign aimed at reducing childhood obesity and promoting healthier lifestyles.
(Courtesy: Holy Cross Athletics)
In 2020, he was approached by Reveno to get involved in the formation of All Vote No Play and he didn’t hesitate. If anything, Kennedy knew better than most about what it actually takes to motivate young people into civic participation considering his background. Now as the organization’s executive director, he is now fully enthralled in its mission in a much greater capacity and for him it starts with the basics.
“Making a difference starts with that one on one connection” he said. “You have the power, ability, and skills to bring about change. Whatever those long term goals are starts with that natural step. You got to get in the game.”
Meanwhile, Dr. Solomon’s involvement stemmed from her role as an educator. She has an extensive background in providing people all the necessary skills to become social change makers. She is the author of best-selling books and is currently a Designer in Residence and Lecturer at Stanford University’s Hasso Plattner Institute of Design where she combines entrepreneurship, imagination and futuristic thinking to inspire young people to make a difference.
(Courtesy: Lisa Kay Solomon)
In 2021, she founded The Futures Series at Stanford to provide space for students to explore the possibilities and share ideas of what a future society can look like.
After teaching a class about democracy and civil discourse in 2019, she came across the work being done by Coach Reveno and a connection had been established. She came across gaps in how coaches were being approached about these topics and as a result she decided to lend her name to this initiative.
Considering the diverse range of sports that encompass the Stanford campus and the national stature it has developed over the years, it didn’t take long for Dr. Solomon to find her footing. For her it goes back to the power that coaches can have in setting the context beyond the game itself. That they are the ones that can utilize the relationship they have established with their athletes to talk about matters outside of Xs and Os.
“The most exciting thing is that coaches have one of the most important relationships in their athletes’ lives” she said. “What a great setting to talk about being a great teammate and a great citizen.
One of the athletes that is getting in on the action is UCLA backup quarterback Chase Griffin. He has already established himself as one of the leading voices in this new era of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) rights being granted to college athletes so that they can have paid endorsements. Over the last year, Griffin has been racketing up various endorsement deals including with Shell, Boost Mobile, Degree, UniWorld, DUFFL, and Clearcover and Discord. He has also created his own brand company Be11eve Brand.
(Courtesy: Getty Images)
In June, his tireless efforts made him the NIL Male Athlete of the Year by the NIL Summit.
On campus, Griffin has decided to take up the mantle of the legacy established by past Bruin greats Jackie Robinson, Arthur Ashe, and Kareem Abdul Jabbar. He joined Bruin Athletic Council and the Student Leadership Council that give student athletes and students in general a space to engage in social justice causes. It was because of that plus his NIL platform that led Dr. Solomon to reach out to him asking to be part of All Vote No Play.
Griffin happily accepted that role. He says he is committed to the process and has some words of advice for those who may be on the fence in the face of increased voter intimidation, suppression, and disillusionment.
“My advice will be to focus on the positive and not on the negative,” he said. “Instead of not voting despite historical transgressions, celebrate the warriors and freedom fighters who gave their lives for the right to vote.”
The work of All Vote No Play is unlike anything that has been seen in history. It meets the moment and is here to stay. Regardless of what happens on Tuesday, the days of student athletes sticking to sports are gone. It is no longer just about winning for your team, it is about winning for democracy.
