Jaguars Announce A Season-Long Voting Initiative With Players and Coaches
The Jacksonville Jaguars organization announced Tuesday a season-long initiative to support voter education, registration, and turn-out. The club released a public service announcement as its first major push.
The PSA included Head Coach Doug Marrone, position coaches Terry Robiskie and Keenan McCardell, quarterback Gardner Minshew II, receiver Chris Conley, defensive lineman Abry Jones and offensive lineman A.J. Cann. The 30-second spot encourages voter registration and will run from now until October 5, which is the last day to register for the November national election.
In a release, the club explained, “The public service announcement will begin airing in Jaguars programming and around the community thanks in part to the generous support of local media including CBS47/FOX30 Action News Jax, the team’s official broadcast partner, as well as First Coast News and Channel 4 The Local Station. A radio version of the call to action will air on 1010XL, the team’s flagship station. The Jaguars have created www.jaguars.com/vote as a resource for the community looking for more information on voter registration and key deadlines.”
The “Get In The Game” campaign will run up till election day, Nov. 3. Following the October 5 registration deadline, the non-partisan campaign will shift focus to voter turnout. The Oct. 18 homestand against the Detroit Lions will see the Jaguars celebrate the civic right of voting. This is the day before early voting begins in the team’s home state of Florida.
Jaguars owner Shad Khan is aa naturalized U.S. citizen, having been born and raised in Pakistan. In the club’s release, Khan expressed his hope for all to see voting as he does.
“You can look at voting as a privilege, and as a naturalized U.S. citizen, you can be assured that I do,” Khan said.
“But I also see it as a civic responsibility. If we’re serious about being better in our communities and throughout our nation, and all voices being heard and respected, we have to participate in the electoral process. No exceptions.
“It’s our duty to cast a ballot. If you haven’t registered to vote, please do by October 5. If you’re registered, please vote.”
Receiver Chris Conley added, “We challenge everyone to exercise their democratic duty and take the time to register and vote. For me, simply voting is not enough. I think it’s crucial to encourage and empower others around me to take advantage of the opportunity to let their voice be heard. Sports and society have always been intertwined, and as an NFL player, I’m hoping to use my platform to stress the importance of voting to Jacksonville residents and others around this country. The time is now.”
Running backs coach Terry Robiskie—who is featured in the PSA—has been coaching in the National Football League for 38 years now (since 1982). In that time, he told reporters on Tuesday, he's never had an opportunity to be a part of something like the Jags initiative.
"I think we've, we've done all we could, we continue to keep doing as much as we can. That is a phenomenal thing to be a part of, this is the first time obviously in my career I've had an opportunity to be a part of such a phenomenal thing, it's been fantastic for us, you know, with a scratch in the match to kind of get it all started to get it going. And it's a flame that burns, it burns deep down inside of us. I think it's a big big plus to have the support of the head coach, the organization, the owner, and to have so many people at the top level that's kind of leading us and taking us to it.
"So that's been that's been phenomenal, I've enjoyed every minute of it, it's been—I think the difficulty of it has been to keep track, because there's so many things going on. You know, it's kind of like what they say is you got one little fire burning here when you put that one out, is another one on the other side of the track you know. So that whole thing has been phenomenal, I'm happy as hell to be a part of it. I hope we can keep it going and again, what started off as a little sparkle is certainly picked up into a big fire and a big flame, I hope we can keep it going."
The Jaguars season-long campaign will be put into practice through social media, game day’s, grassroots actives and local and national partnerships. This follows an organization-wide virtual voter education seminar that took place on August 17, in which players were taken through the registration process, taught the history of voting rights in America and given an opportunity to discuss ballot issues close to them.
Jacksonville’s front office employees are being given the option to train with the Duval County Supervisor of Elections in order to serve as poll workers on Election Day. The club release also explains there will be flexibility from the team to head to the polls when it comes time to vote. This comes on the heels of sports leagues and teams around the country ramping up non-partisan initiatives to encourage and assist in voting.
The NBA announced last week that thus far 16 arenas had committed to transform into voting centers on Election Day, allowing for larger crowds and more social distancing for those concerned about the continued spread of COVID-19.
As Minshew states at the conclusion of the Jags PSA, “get in the game. Be an American.”
