The National Basketball Association said Tuesday it would not schedule games on Election Day, Nov. 8, in an effort to encourage fans, players and officials to vote.
All 30 teams play the night before the election as part of what the league calls a “civic engagement night.”
The plan was first reported by NBC News.
The league normally treats Election Day like any other on the schedule. In 2018 there were four games on Election Day and in 2016 six on the day. The 2020 season had not yet started on Election Day that year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“The scheduling decision stemmed from the NBA family’s focus on promoting impartial civic engagement and encouraging fans to plan to vote in midterm elections,” the league said in a statement.
NBA and WNBA players have been particularly active among American professional athletes on social justice issues, including Black Lives Matter and voting advocacy in recent years. They have often had the passive or even active support of the league, far more than their counterparts in the NFL or Major League Baseball.
More than a dozen NBA arenas were used as voting sites for the 2020 election.
“Normally, we don’t change the schedule for an outside event,” said James Cadogan, executive director of the NBA Social Justice Coalition, said on MSNBC on Tuesday. “But voting and Election Day are, of course, unique and incredibly important to our democracy.”
The full NBA schedule will be announced on Wednesday afternoon.
