Mike Evans, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver who sat Sunday for the national anthem in protest of Donald Trump winning the presidency, did not vote in the election.
“When Ashton Kutcher comes out and says we’ve been punked, then I’ll stand again,” Evans explained after the Bucs blew out the Bears. “But I won’t stand anymore. I said this a long time ago. When [Trump] ran, I thought it was a joke, and the joke continues. I’m not a political person that much, but I got common sense and I know when something’s not right.”
Evans did not lie when he said, “I’m not a political person that much.”
A teeammate asked Evans if he put a ballot in a box on November 8. Evans, on his Instagram account, offered a great, big no.
Even if he shirked his civic duties last Tuesday, Evans goes above and beyond the call of duty most Sundays. He boasts 811 yards receiving, 59 catches, and eight touchdowns this season.
Evans’ voting-booth apathy mirrors that of other protestors. San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick refused to vote after calling Hillary Clinton corrupt and Donald Trump racist. Portland NBC affiliate KGW discovered that the vast majority of anti-Trump demonstrators arrested in the city since the presidential election did not bother to vote.
“Did you #vote?” fellow Bucs wide receiver Louis Murphy asked on social media. Evans on Instagram responded, “No.”