14 — Wednesday, October 28, 2020
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

‘We’re all just really excited to exercise our right’: Athletes registering to vote

Vote. 
A four letter word and a simple 

action, yet one with a lot of power 
behind it. 

But in America, it is an action 

that is often neglected. In 2016, only 
55.7% of eligible people turned out 
to vote, a number bested by 26 other 
developed democratic countries. It 
wasn’t just the 2016 election though 
— voter turnout for Americans has 
been around 50-60% for the last 
few presidential elections and much 
less for the off-year congressional 
midterms. 

This year, there seems to be a 

change of tides as a dangerous virus 
spreads effortlessly, an uprising 
against racial injustice and political 
tensions continue to divide the 
country. 

“A lot of people right now feel 

helpless because there are a lot of 
bad things in the news,” Michigan 
volleyball 
sophomore 
middle 

blocker Jess Robinson said. “Life 
is pretty insane right now, but one 
thing we can change in this world 
is our government — the people 
representing us — and the way to do 
that is voting.”

This 
renewed 
energy 
to 

participate in the oldest institution 
of 
political 
participation 
has 

become an exciting opportunity 
to Robinson and her teammates. 
As of this week, the entire team 
— barring international players — 
have registered and plan to vote in 
the November election. 

“When we found out it was 100%, 

we were just so happy. We were so 

proud,” Robinson said. “The people 
who weren’t registered to vote were 
freshmen. We helped them through 
it. That was sort of a fun thing to do 
with them on getting their absentee 
ballots mailed to their new homes 
in Ann Arbor. So that was a big 
milestone for them and it was a big 
victory for the team.”

Robinson is one of several 

Michigan student-athletes leading 
initiatives to help register the rest 
of their teammates. Defensive 

linemen Kwity Paye and Carlo 
Kemp helped register the football 
team by organizing tables where 
players could sign up after practice. 
Men’s basketball senior forward 
Isaiah Livers helped get the rest 
of the men’s basketball team 
registered. 

“We just wanted to do our part,” 

Paye told The Daily last month. 
“Make sure that we’re voting. Just 
because the stuff that’s going on 
right now, it’s just ridiculous.”

These 
valiant 
mobilization 

efforts made by these student-
athletes reflect a larger movement 
boiling beneath the surface — one 
among the youth. 

“We’re the people who are going 

to inherit this world,” Robinson 
said, “so we should make it the best 
one we can, because right now it’s 
not looking too good. We’re the ones 
who have to stay (here) the longest, 
so I think that young people should 
try and get into (everything).” 

With volleyball unlikely being 

played in the fall, voter registration 
has become a team-building activity 
for the Wolverines. Robinson and 
her teammates were excited to 
register and get involved. They even 
treated it as a way to help integrate 
the freshmen into the team. 

“We only get this chance once 

every four years,” Robinson said. 
“This is my first time voting 
because I just turned 18 in the last 
year, so it was a pretty big deal for 

me and is for a lot of people on this 
team. We’re all just really excited 
to exercise our right because we 
just feel like a lot of things have to 
change and this is the best way to 
do it.”

As the election date looms, 

people everywhere are joining 
mobilization efforts and getting 
themselves prepared to vote. On 
Michigan’s campus, athletes’ voices 
ring loudly. They recognize the 
special attention their platform 
brings them, and they’re making 
the most of this responsibility. 

“We get out to thousands of 

more people than what a normal 
student would,” women’s basketball 
sophomore forward Naz Hillmon 
told The Daily at a student-athlete 
led protest in August. “I really 
think that we are taking advantage 
of our platform, just trying to get 
information out there and just 
trying to put our thoughts out 
there. … Just trying to put out 
positive information and correct 
information.”

Robinson 
and 
the 
other 

many 
student-athletes 
want 

their initiative to be seen to help 
motivate others. They understand 
the power and influence their 
actions and voice can have. For 
voting, they are excited to reveal 
their accomplishment and hope it 
inspires others to do the same.

“(Voting is) just really important 

to everyone,” Robinson said. “No 
matter what your opinion (is), it’s 
that your opinion is being heard and 
that you (are) at least registered, 
voting, … casting your ballot and 
... being a part of the democratic 
(process).” 

O

n March 13, 2020, 
three plain-clothed 
Louisville 
Metro 

Police Department 

Officers — Jonathan Mattingly, 
Brett 
Hankison 
and 
Myles 

Cosgrove — forced entry into the 
apartment 
of 
Breonna 

Taylor, 
a 

26 
year-

old 
Black 

woman, 
executing 
a 
search 

warrant. 
The officers 
shot 
their 

firearms 
32 

times 
with 

six of them 
killing Taylor.

Taylor’s murder reached the 

mainstage of the public eye when 
protests erupted after the horrific 
death of George Floyd. She became 
a rallying cry for the suffering of 
the Black community, specifically 
Black women, in protests against 
generational systemic oppression. 

Around the country, the sports 

community has become a leader 
in the fight against racial injustice 
to an extent it never has before. 
When the NBA travelled down to 
their Disney World bubble in early 
July, many players diverted their 
press conferences and used their 
platform to discuss these issues, 
echoing 
names 
like 
Breonna 

Taylor. So too did WNBA players 
at their bubble in Bradenton, Fla., 
some 120 miles away.

In 
Ann 
Arbor, 
several 

University of Michigan athletes 
have used their own platform 
to speak up. In August, football 
senior defensive back Hunter 
Reynolds 
joined 
forces 
with 

Eastern 
Michigan 
linebacker 

Tariq Speights to organize a Black 
Lives Matter rally with hundreds 
of attendees.

“Well I think we’re in a unique 

position where we have a lot of 
people looking at us for what we 
do for athletics and what not,” 
Audrey LeClair, a sophomore 
on 
the 
softball 
team 
who 

participated in the protest, said. 
“And we represent this school 
and therefore we have a platform 

that we can use and it’s really 
important. And just it’s important 
to use it because we have a certain 
voice that a lot of regular students 
don’t have. … As you saw, we’re all 
more than an athlete.” 

The same chants passionately 

screamed 
at 
many 
protests 

against social injustice could be 
heard at this one — one of them 
calling for the memory of Taylor:

“Say her name!”
“Breonna Taylor!
As more time passed, many 

continued to place pressure on 
Kentucky 
Attorney 
General 

Daniel Cameron to arrest the 
officers who killed Taylor. 

On Sept. 23, a grand jury 

indicted Hankinson on wanton 
endangerment charges for the 
10 shots fired inside Taylor’s 
residence. 
Cosgrove 
and 

Mattingly were not criminally 
charged and the death of Taylor 
was not placed on any of the 

officers. 

Another uproar of emotion 

flooded the streets in Louisville, 
Chicago, New York City, Los 
Angeles, Washington, D.C. and 
hundreds of other cities. The 
same chants and signs proclaimed 
anger toward the failure of the 
justice system. 

And, once again, athletes were 

at the center of the movement.

Former Fab Five star Jalen 

Rose used his position as a 
commentator on ESPN’s NBA 
Finals broadcast to display his 
frustration with the decision 
made.

“When Kyle Rittenhouse, in 

Milwaukee as a 17-year-old, kills 
two people, yet three cops aren’t 
directly charged with killing 
Breonna Taylor ... it shows you 
how they feel about Black lives in 
America,” Rose later said. 

It became too overwhelming 

for him to solely focus on 

basketball 
during 
such 
a 

momentous and emotional time 
in the United States. Other NBA 
players shared in that struggle, as 
the league stopped play for two 
days as a result of the Milwaukee 
Bucks boycott, later joined by all 
the other playoff teams. 

“So, we are starting a game 

... It’s 400 years of slavery to 0,” 
Rose said during the pregame 
show. “We know we’re not 
(going to) win, but you still gotta 
continue to move the ball forward 
and put people behind you in a 
position to be successful, and 
that’s what we’re here to do today. 
… That’s what the NBA players 
are doing today, and that’s why 
I applaud them because while 
they’re out, they’re performing 
with heavy hearts trying to win a 
championship. I understand that 
this is really painful, to show up 
to work and still try to entertain.”

Michigan defensive graduate 

assistant and and former player 
Mike McCray also displayed 
his 
outrage 
by 
tweeting 

his 
displeasure, 
as 
well 
as 

consistently sharing information 
about Taylor’s murder.

Ambry Thomas, another former 

Michigan player, also joined the 
flurry of furious athletes. 

To honor Taylor’s memory, we 

must listen to Thomas, McCray, 
Rose and so many more: The lack 
of justice in the case of Breonna 
Taylor once again proves the 
troubling reality of the presence 
of racism in America. There are 
so many names — whether they 
are publicly known or not — that 
exemplify the horrors of police 
brutality against Black people. 
Wickedly, many of them result in 
the same unfulfillment as Taylor. 

It is important to remember 

these people so that they are never 
forgotten. The deaths of Breonna 
Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, George 

Floyd and Jacob Blake must spark 
change, as their examples have 
provided an awakening for many 
Americans. 

Athletes 
have 
played 
an 

integral role in the awareness of 
these victims, as they have that 
ability to reach a large portion of 
people. Their voice carries weight 
and will continue, especially as a 
momentous and critical election 
nears. Whether their viewpoints 
and opinions are in agreement 
with the people listening, the 
subject matter is non-negotiable. 
The case of Breonna Taylor 
demonstrates that racism is real — 
and it is not a political topic that 
can be argued over. 

As Rose said, the game is “400 

years of slavery to 0” and there is 
a lot more work to do to achieve 
true equality. 

Trachtenberg can be reached at 

btrach@umich.edu and on Twitter 
@brandon_trach.

Athletes remember Breonna Taylor

BRANDON TRACHTENBERG

Daily Sports Writer

ALEC COHEN/Daily

Sophmore middle blocker Jess Robinson is one of several athletes who led initiatives to help their teammates get registered to vote ahead of the Nov. 3 election.

BRANDON

TRACHTENBERG

ALLISON ENGKVIST/Daily

Athletes from Michigan and Eastern Michgian organized a Black Lives Matter protest in Ann Arbor this August to remember victims of police brutality, such as Breonna Taylor, and advocate for reform.

