Lily Meskers was faced with an unexpected choice as the first major election in which she can vote approaches.

The 19-year-old University of Montana sprinter was among the state’s college athletes who received a request from Montana Together asking if she was interested in a name, image and likeness deal to support the senator Jon Tester, a three-term Democrat. seeking re-election. The group, which is not affiliated with the Test campaign, offered between $400 and $2,400 to athletes willing to produce supportive videos.

Meskers, who is originally from Colorado but registered to vote in Montana, decided not to accept the deal because she disagrees with Tester’s votes on legislation involving transgender athletes in sports.

“I thought, OK, I think this is a political move to try to win back some voters that he might have lost,” Meskers said. “And being a student-athlete myself, I wasn’t going to give my support to someone who I felt didn’t have the same support for me.”

Professional athletes such as LeBron James, Colin Kaepernick and Stephen Curry have taken high-profile stances on hot topics and political campaigns in recent years, but college athletes are far less outspoken — even if money is available , according to NIL experts. field. Being outwardly political can impact their school or jeopardize potential sponsorship deals from brands that don’t want controversy. It can certainly establish an athlete’s public image — for better or worse — or lead to tension with teammates and coaches who might not feel the same way.

There are examples of political activism from college athletes: A Texas Tech player revealed his support for former President Donald Trump. on a shirt under his uniform at a game last week and a handful of Nebraska athletes joined forces a few days ago in an ad campaign against an abortion measure on Tuesday’s ballot.

Yet such measures are considered rare.

“It can be seen as risky and people may tell them not to take that risk because they haven’t done it yet,” said Lauren Walsh, who launched a sports branding agency years ago. at 15 years old. She added that there was often too much to lose for themselves, their owners and, in some cases, their families.

“And these individuals still have to figure out what they’re going to do with the rest of their lives, even those who end up being drafted,” she added.

College coaches aren’t always so reluctant. Auburn men’s basketball coach Bruce Pearl used social media to make clear that he does not support Kamala Harris, Trump’s Democratic opponent in next week’s presidential election. Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy once made a splash with a star player for wearing a jersey. promoting a far-right news outlet.

Blake Lawrence, co-founder of the NIL Opendorse platform, noted that this was the first presidential election of the NIL era, which started in July 2021. He said athletes are flocking to opportunities to help increase voter turnout among 18- to 24-year-olds, adding that one of his company’s partners asked 86 athletes to post messages on social media encouraging participation throughout the first half of the week.

He said athletes are reluctant to support specific candidates or causes considered partisan.

“Most student-athletes are still developing their confidence in endorsing any type of product or service,” he said. “So if they are hesitant to support a local restaurant or an e-commerce product, they will certainly be hesitant to use their social media in a political way.”

Giving athletes a voice

Many college athletes have chosen to focus on mobilizing participation in nonpartisan ways or simply using their platforms to take positions that are not directly political in nature. Some of these efforts can be seen in battleground states.

A progressive group called NextGen America said it recruited players in Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Virginia to encourage youth voting. Another organization, The Team, said it prepared 27 college athletes from Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Arizona and Michigan to lead volunteer voter participation opportunities for students. The organization also said it has asked more than 625 coaches to sign a nonpartisan pledge to have their athletes registered to vote.

The team’s executive director is Joe Kennedy, a former coach who coordinated championship visits and other sporting events to the White House during President Barack Obama’s administration. In early October, he hosted a Zoom event in which panelists such as NCAA President Charlie Baker and WNBA players Nneka Ogwumike and Natasha Cloud gave advice to college athletes on using their platforms on campus.

In its early days, the Team rode the momentum generated by record turnout in the 2020 election. That year, the NCAA said Division I athletes could take advantage of Election Day, without practicing and playing to vote. Lisa Kay Solomon, founder of the All Vote No Play campaign, said that even if athletes don’t immediately take a stand on controversial issues, it’s important for them to learn how to do so.

“It’s a lot to ask of our young people to feel capable and confident in skills they’ve never had the opportunity to practice,” Solomon said. “We need to model what it means to practice taking risks, to practice standing up for yourself, to practice pausing to think about the values ​​you care about – not what social media feeds into your brain , but what do you care about and how do you express that in a way that honors the kind of future you want to be a part of?

Shut up and play?

Two years ago, Tennessee quarterback-Martin Dresser Winn said he would support a candidate in a race for local district attorney general in what experts said was most likely the first no-holds-barred political deal struck by a college athlete.

There have been very few since.

Public criticism and consequences for athletes who speak out on political or social issues can be severe. Kaepernick, the Super Bowl-winning quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers, has not played in an NFL game since January 2017, soon after, he began kneeling during the national anthem at games.

Meskers, the Montana sprinter, said political endorsements through NIL deals could create problems for athletes and their schools.

“I just think NIL is going to have a lot of problems and struggles if they continue to let athletes make political endorsements,” she said. “I just think it’s complicated. But I support NIL as a whole. I think it’s very difficult as a student-athlete to create a financial income and support yourself.

Walsh said it was easier for wealthy, veteran stars like James and Ogwumike to take a stand. James, the Los Angeles Lakers star, launched More Than a Vote — an organization whose mission is to “educate, energize and protect Black voters” — in 2020. He handed over leadership to Ogwumike, who to complete her 13th year in the WNBA. and is also president of the Women’s National Basketball Players Association. This year, More Than a Vote focuses on women’s rights and reproductive freedom.

“They have very established brands,” Walsh said. “They know who they are and what their political position is. They know they have a very strong audience – there will always be haters, but they will also always have a strong audience of people who listen to everything they have to say.

Andra Gillespie, an associate professor at Emory University who teaches African-American politics, also said it’s rare for a college athlete to have a significant impact with a political stance simply because they tend to have a flat -more regional than national form. Even celebrities like Taylor Swift and Eminem are more successful at increasing turnout than advocating for candidates.

“They are certainly very beneficial in helping to increase their fan participation,” Gillespie said. “The data is less conclusive as to whether or not it is convincing: is it the data that will persuade you to vote for a particular candidate?

Athletes as influencers

Yet campaigns know that young voters are critical this election cycle, and athletes provide an effective, familiar voice to reach them.

Political and social topics don’t often come up, but this week, six Nebraska athletes — five softball players and one volleyball player — appeared in an ad funded by the group Protect Women and Children involving two initiatives on abortion laws on Tuesday’s ballot.

Female athletes supported Initiative 434, which would amend the state constitution to ban abortions after the first trimester, with exceptions. Star softball player Jordy Bahl said on social media that athletes were not paid.

A University of Montana spokesperson said two athletes initially agreed to participate in the NIL deal supporting Tester. The school said one withdrew and the other declined to be interviewed.

For Meskers, speaking out against the offer came down to Tester voting twice against proposals to bar federal funds from going to schools that allow transgender athletes to play women’s sports, a major campaign issue of the GOP. Tester’s campaign said the proposals were amendments to government spending programs, and he didn’t want to play a role in them slipping as government shutdowns loom.

“As a former public school teacher and school board member, Jon Tester believes these decisions should be made at the local level,” a Tester spokesperson said. “He never voted to allow men to compete with women.”

Meskers said she thinks using influence as college athletes is a good thing and is in favor of NIL. She just doesn’t think the two should mix specifically to support candidates.

“I think as student-athletes we have a really big voice and a platform to use,” she said. “So I think if you encourage people to do their civic duties and get up and go vote, I think that’s a good thing.”

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This story has been corrected to correct the spelling of Andra Gillespie’s first name.

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