Nebraska Cornhuskers stars jump into political realm just ahead of election
In an era where Nebraska Cornhuskers players have a bigger voice than college athletes have ever had before, it makes sense that on occasion, those athletes are going to use their voice in ways that some Husker fans aren’t going to agree with.
I happen to be one of those fans that don’t agree with the way six Husker players decided to use their voices, in fact. Five softball players and one volleyball player were recently featured in a political ad that pushes for Nebraskans to vote yes on a ballot initiative that would ban abortion in the state.
Currently, Nebraska a 6-week abortion band, however initiative 434 would make that ban part of the state constitution, making it quite a bit more difficult to amend later, requiring legislation as well as a ballot initiative to change it in the future.
Nebraska Cornhuskers stars jump into election, abortion fight
Chief among the athletes that are appearing in the ad are Jordy Bahl, who transferred to Nebraska from multiple national champion school, Oklahoma and volleyball star Rebekah Allick.
"Nebraska, it's time to get off the bench.” Bahl and Allick say in the ad. “Out of states activists are pushing a radical amendment initiative 439.”
Initiative 439 would make abortion more accessible in the state and both sides have said that there’s been quite a bit of confusion over the issue because the initiative numbers are so close together.
Unsurprisingly, some Husker fans have voiced their frustration over their favorite players so proudly and publicly taking a side opposite theirs on this issue.
“They have no idea what they’re talking about. stick to ball,” one abortion rights activist wrote on Twitter.
“I hope those women never need the reproductive services they want banned,” another wrote.
“I hope they realize that the party they support contains people who want to reverse the 19th Amendment, ban birth control and IVF.”
There were of course, some fans who were quite happy to see the NU players voice their stance.
“Thank you for voicing your opinions,” another fan wrote. “It's pretty brave knowing that the left wing media will be coming after you now. I respect you all for this!”
“Thank you ladies. It’s so sad that those who disagree have to resort to name calling. I raised my daughters to say what they believe. (Not always what I believe) and they do. Well done,” another posted.
Nebraska Cornhuskers volleyball coach John Cook was asked his opinion on his players taking sides on divisive issues publicly, and he summed it up well.
"You know, they are semiprofessional athletes and how are they going to deal with it and how are we going to manage it and so with that becomes way more power that these guys have. They have the portal. If they get pissed off, they can leave and so this is the new era of college athletics," Cook told KETV7.