Ryan Belk is a junior at Yale, a tight end on the Bulldog's football team, and a survivor of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida. This year, he's partnering with MyVote Project cofounder Sari Kaufman, a Parkland and Yale classmate, to run a voter registration drive and help more Yale students be confident and informed voters. Lisa Kay Solomon, co-lead of the All Vote No Play initiative, sat down with Ryan to learn more about his passion for getting teammates and the broader community of student athletes involved with civic engagement.
Editor's note: This conversation has been condensed and lightly edited for clarity.
Lisa Kay Solomon: Tell me about your background. Have you always been civically engaged?
Ryan Belk: I grew up in a really political family. My dad has always been into politics, my grandma loves it, and my brother is studying to be a lawyer. But even with those influences I never got personally passionate about politics or felt this big urge to create change. I didn't really see a need.
But then in my sophomore year of high school at Marjory Stoneman Douglas, 17 people were killed and 17 more injured in a mass shooting. That was probably the first time where I felt personally passionate about a specific issue: gun violence. I started to pay attention to history. I realized that these mass shootings had happened before. And although it seemed that people wanted to change the laws, it wasn't getting done.
My classmates at school became passionate [about gun control] and launched the March for Our Lives movement. They started speaking at rallies and leading school walkouts, which led to nationwide change. It received national media coverage and led to a march on Washington with hundreds of thousands of people, which I got to attend. It really put into perspective how my classmates, who were not even old enough to vote, were still able to create a massive movement that affected so many people. It was the first time I really saw the importance of voting and how each individual matters. And how engagement can lead to an exponential amount of change.
Not only did I become passionate about gun control, but I saw that it was actually possible to make a difference.
LKS: What was it like to be part of the immediate aftermath of the shooting and see your high school classmates lead a national movement?
RB: After the tragedy, everyone was in a place of deep sadness and mourning and didn't really see a path forward to effect change. But then we came together to take a stand. We realized that if we do nothing, nothing will happen. It was so inspiring. My classmates got so many people involved. They reached out to politicians and athletes and so many others. These were kids that had been excited about politics but had no experience doing something like this.
It's possible, no matter who you are, how old you are, or how much experience you have to still be a part of something big and create change.
LKS: How did you take that experience with you to college?
RB: I discovered that I was passionate about being engaged and I wanted to bring that to Yale because it is a very politically involved campus. When you hear personal stories, you realize why it's so important to vote and to start initiatives that can effect change. But I didn't know how to get started, especially given all of the time I spend training with the [football] team. One of my other friends from school, Sari, was really involved with voter education and connected me with All Vote No Play. That's when I realized that it was possible for me to do something.
This happened last fall, in the middle of my first football season. I met with associate athletic director Jason Strong and his assistant at the time, Dr. Kristal McGreggor. I told them about my idea to get athletes engaged [during Election Day, which is designated by the NCAA as a day for civic engagement, not playing sports], and they helped me shape it into something actionable. We decided to plan the Bulldog Breakfast Challenge, a free breakfast for athletes where we would discuss the importance of voting, play videos, and provide cards where people could share their personal experiences. We shared the event on social media to spread the word. It ended up being a success, especially as it was our first year and there weren't even midterm or general elections.
This year for the midterms, we're trying to do something similar, but hoping for increased turnout and to expand the breakfast into an entire movement.
LKS: As an athlete yourself, why do you think it's important for athletes to be involved and understand that they can effect change outside of their performance on the field?
RB: Everyone has the ability to be a leader, especially athletes with their natural leadership instincts and as [some of] the most recognizable people on campus. People are always looking at athletes around campus and in the media, as we can see with the NBA. Athletes can use the platform they have, not only to further their own careers but also to effect change.
College sports are just as popular as professional sports, so student athletes are being looked up to by their peers at college and also by younger kids. Athletes really have a huge opportunity to effect change and be a part of this movement.
LKS: What's your hope for what happens this year and in the years to come?
RB: For this coming year, we want to start with voter registration. We're going for 100% student-athlete registration, which is definitely achievable. From there, we want to partner with another campus group to try to get the entire student body registered to vote. If 100% of the athletics department is registered to vote, that will be a great model for the rest of the campus. This is the same mindset of motivating, inspiring, and leading by example and action.
LKS: We know that coaches are under a lot of pressure to create winning teams. How can coaches also get involved with this work?
RB: I think it's super important that we get the coaches involved. They are really busy, so it's important to be proactive about getting them on board. Coaches are some of the most influential people in an athlete's life. We spend so much time with them. We look up to them on and off the field. Having a coach stand up there and preach the importance of civic engagement along with a couple of passionate athletes on the team will be more motivating for players to get involved. For athletes to see another side of a coach - that there's more to it than just the sport - is really powerful. I think it can help to bring a team together around something that's bigger than their sport.
LKS: After the Uvalde tragedy, what was it like watching Steve Kerr, the coach of the Golden State Warriors, use his platform to call for action?
RB: It was so cool to see a coach, who has been very politically active, not be afraid to voice his opinions. He coaches some of the greatest athletes in the world and he is respected by them. Steve Kerr is an example for other coaches to see how impactful they can be on their team and also on the overall community. Kerr not only impacted his athletes, he also delivered a worldwide message.
LKS: What has it been like to be part of the All Vote No Play movement? What do you want other athletes to know about the kind of support that's available to them through this initiative?
RB: All Vote No Play has been extremely helpful for me personally. When I got to Yale, I knew I wanted to do something and that voting was important for me. But I was getting to college for the first time and I was so busy with athletics. Luckily, I got connected with All Vote No Play, which provided me with the resources and connections to other passionate people. That helped me to strategize with my athletic department and to coordinate this year's activities and learn how to spread the movement to other teams. All Vote No Play has provided handbooks and flowcharts that I can share with other students at Yale and at other colleges, which makes it incredibly easy to be involved. All Vote No Play is a great way to find your passion without having to start something by yourself.
I know personally it can be a little intimidating. I used to think: I haven't done anything in the past. I'm not really used to this. I don't know how to get involved. This kind of looks cool, but am I passionate enough?
It was so inspiring to see the movements that were started by my peers, people younger than me, people with much less reach than me as an athlete. I started having conversations with people on my team, "Have you seen any of this voting stuff? Have you seen any of these civic movements?" More likely than not, there are others on your team who are passionate about the work, whether it's voting or another issue. You can even go to a coach and say, "Hey, this is something I'm passionate about, but I don't really know what to do." They're going to be helpful and they're going to want to help empower their student athletes.
You can also start by going to the All Vote No Play website and checking out their resources. You'll see many easy things that can be done. It's already set up. And once you figure out that civic engagement is something that you'd like to do, you can help make change and be a part of the movement.
Join Ryan and other athletes at the AVNP Engaged Athlete All-Star meeting on September 13, at 8 p.m. EST/5 p.m. PST, featuring passionate leaders like Golden State Warriors NBA champion Stephen Curry, Stanford University women's basketball coach Tara VanDerveer, and NFL New Orleans Saints Demario Davis. Register here.
Make your voice heard in this year's midterm elections! Not sure if you're registered to vote? Click HERE to register or to check your voter registration status.
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