Alabama's Nick Saban emphasizes he votes, shares Tide's election programs
Nick Saban votes.
Reminded of his comments four years ago, when Saban a day after Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton to win the 2016 presidential election, said, "It was so important to me that I didn't even know it was happening. We're focused on other things here," Saban emphasized he votes and his program has made accommodations so that his second-ranked Alabama squad this year can vote.
The national elections, including Trump's bid for re-election against challenger Joe Biden, are less than two weeks away on Nov. 3. The NCAA earlier this year mandated that Election Day be an off day in all athletics programs across the nation in all sports.
“I always vote, I just usually absentee vote because it's in the middle of our season,” Saban said on the SEC coaches' teleconference.
However, Saban revealed an additional wrinkle that Alabama has developed, not solely in its football program but throughout Crimson Tide athletics.
“We've got it set up for them to absentee vote if they want to,” Saban said. “And even though they're going to be off, they can do that if they want to.”
Per Alabama, the Tide program enacted a variety of programs over the course of the last several months to get players both educated on social issues and registered to vote since players returned to campus amidst the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
Alabama had “three or four separate (voter) registration days” that were conducted on campus in the Tide's athletics facilities and lasted throughout the business day, from morning until evening. Essentially, each voter drive lasted a full workday.
In mid-September, the NCAA approved a measure to give off student-athletes election day, not just this year but in following Novembers as well.
“The Council unanimously supports this important piece of legislation,” NCAA Division I Council Chair Grace Calhoun said in a release when the NCAA announced the civic engagement legislation. “Coming from Division I SAAC, we know it represents the voice of student-athletes across the country who continue to express a desire to increase their civic engagement at local, state and federal levels.
“We look forward to seeing student-athletes use this opportunity as a way to create positive change."
