The NBA will not be scheduling any games on the midterm election day, but all 30 teams will play the night before on November 7, the Associated Press stated.
The league looks to use this as an opportunity to encourage its fans to get out and vote to “amplify the need for civic engagement.”
The official schedule will be released Wednesday for all 30 teams. However, the teams are encouraged to use their platforms to share election information with the fans — like registration deadlines — in the weeks leading up to election night.
The election will take plan on November 8 for all 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and 30 U.S. Senate seats, along with gubernatorial and state races.
“The scheduling decision came out of the NBA family’s focus on promoting nonpartisan civic engagement and encouraging fans to make a plan to vote during midterm elections,” the league said Tuesday.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver speaks to the media prior to Game One of the 2022 NBA Finals between the Golden State Warriors and the Boston Celtics at Chase Center on June 02, 2022, in San Francisco, California. (Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
“It’s unusual. We don’t usually change the schedule for an external event,” said the executive director of the NBA’s social justice coalition, James Cadogan. “But voting and Election Day are obviously unique and incredibly important to our democracy.”
Having teams help promote civic engagement by not playing on election night is a rare move by the league. Typically, the NBA will not play games on significant events such as Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve. In addition to trying not to schedule games on the day of the NCAA men’s basketball championship game. Usually, there are also a few days off around the All-Star Game.
However, given the league’s penchant for left-wing activism, its left-leaning fanbase, and the red wave of Republican voters expected to crash down on voting booths nationwide during this year’s midterms, perhaps it’s not so surprising the league would make this move.
LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers along with Anthony Davis #3 of the Los Angeles Lakers kneel during the National Anthem against the Houston Rockets in Game One of the Western Conference Second Round during the 2020 NBA Playoffs at AdventHealth Arena at the ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex on September 04, 2020, in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. (Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
In 2020, during the last election, much of the league and its players were openly involved in the election effort. The Associated Press contributed the push in response to the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, “racial inequality,” and police brutality.
Jacob Bliss is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jbliss@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter @JacobMBliss.
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