Spoelstra, Heat pushing for arena as voting site
Erik Spoelstra and the Heat want AmericanAirlines Arena to be utilized as a
Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said the team is pushing the City of Miami to allow AmericanAirlines Arena to be utilized as a polling place, as part of the franchise’s and NBA’s push to get the vote out for upcoming elections.
AmericanAirlines Arena is owned by the city but operated by the Heat. Several other NBA teams have requested and been granted permission to have their arenas utilized as polling places.
“After tonight,” Spoelstra said ahead of Saturday’s 101-99 exhibition scrimmage loss to the Utah Jazz at Disney’s Wide World of Sports complex, “voting day will be 100 days from now. That’s something that our organization will continue to be focused on.
“In fact, we have petitioned the city that we want to use the arena as a polling site, a voting site and we think it would be terrific for the city, for our community.”
Spoelstra said the team’s belief is it is a workable proposal amid the new coronavirus pandemic.
“There, at the arena, we think we would be able to make it safe,” he said. “We would be able to follow all the health protocols. It could be extremely efficient. It would be fantastic for the city and we’re pushing for it.
“Really, the ball is in their court right now. We want to make it happen and that’s really something that we hope we can get done.”
Spoelstra and other NBA coaches are coaching in Disney while wearing “Coaches for Racial Justice” lapel pins.
“It’s not just the coaches’ association,” Spoelstra said.
“But we want to stand united and continue this conversation and this message about true equality and we still want to see justice for the wrongs that have happened.
“Just like you’ve heard the players saying, we still want to see justice for Breonna Taylor, for the three police officers who have not been arrested. This is a symbol that we want to wear. It’s a bigger pin than you would typically wear because we want this conversation to continue to happen.”
Spoelstra, like many, said the focus on systemic racism should not be lost amid the restart of sports.
“We want to be part of this discussion and all of us will have different roles in this,” he said. “But so much of it is about awareness and a willingness to continue this conversation.”
Veteran Kelly Olynyk takes socially distanced coaching from a Heat assistant during practice at Disney.