Nine Sports Unions Release Statement Against Voter Suppression
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Nine of the major professional sports unions — including the National Basketball Players Association, National Football League Players Association and the United States Women’s National Team Players Association — signed a joint statement on Monday that condemned legislative efforts across the country that limit access to the ballot. The statement comes as corporations based in states like Georgia and Texas are under pressure to speak up against Republican voter suppression bills that are being signed into law at a frighteningly fast pace.
“We should all feel a responsibility to defend the right to vote and to oppose any discriminatory legislation or measures that restrict or prevent any eligible voter from having an equal and fair opportunity to cast a ballot,” the unions said. The statement remarked that the players were joining the “hundreds of individuals, foundations and corporations” who had spoken out against voter suppression in the last few months. Like many of these corporations, however, the statement did not identify any specific legislation that they opposed or name the Republican actors who are determined to push these restrictions at the local and state levels.