Hafley, Players Emphasize Importance of Voting Ahead of Election Day

Boston College was one of the first college football programs in the country to cancel practice on Aug. 27 in the wake of the Jacob Blake shooting. First-year head coach Jeff Hafley and the Eagles’ Leadership Council came together and decided to instead hold a team-wide discussion about police brutality, racial inequality, and social activism.

Since, those conversations have continued, and, with Election Day approaching, Hafley has made a point of emphasizing the importance of voting, which he said Monday is a “big step.”

“We can tweet out, and we can voice our opinions, and we can have meetings, but there needs to be action,” Hafley said. “And it’s not just saying you’re going to vote. It’s actually going to do it and using your right to vote.”

Hafley explained how BC’s director of football initiatives Josh Beekman, a former Eagles guard (2002-06), has helped educate the players about voter registration and the election as a whole. Hafley went on to mention that Beekman set up a Zoom for players looking for more information about the presidential candidates and the voting process.

“There’s so much more to it than just saying, ‘Hey, go vote,’” Hafley said. “It’s ‘How do you do it? How do you register? How do you get set up? Where do I go?’ And then ‘Who are you gonna vote for and why?’ Show them the different views, and I credit Josh for starting that initiative.”

The program will be providing transportation for players voting in-person Tuesday, Hafley said.

Defensive end Brandon Barlow, a Cohoes, N.Y. native, told reporters he already voted absentee. The redshirt senior talked about how civic duty has been embraced by BC football.

"It's something that's emphasized around here a lot,” Barlow said. “Take advantage of this opportunity to go vote and have an impact on having change you want to see in this country. That's something that we all echo. As leadership, we want to make sure guys take their opportunity to vote and represent what they want for this country.”

Redshirt junior linebacker Isaiah McDuffie touched on how this year’s election is especially significant because of everything that’s going in the country, including the Black Lives Matter movement. McDuffie declared that everyone should “try to make a difference.”

Hafley has been in the coaching business for two decades. He doesn’t remember an Election Day where his teams didn’t practice. Hafley said he knows a lot of coaches are frustrated that they can’t practice on Tuesday—but he feels differently.

In his eyes, Election Day is an “important day” that doesn’t happen every year.

“I don’t ever recall, truthfully, being on a staff in my time where we encouraged and talked about the importance of voting as much as we have,” Hafley said. I do think it is very, very important.”