Election Day: Our 50 Favorite Connections Between Politics and Sports
Election day is upon us. For many, exercising our right to vote gives us new hope and new reason for optimism.
Just like sports, elections bring about plenty of passion and drama that keeps many of us interested.
Sometimes athletes become politicians or politics just inevitably become intertwined with sports. Whatever the case may be, there have been many times when the world of sports has collided with politics.
Here are our 50 well-known connections between politics and sports.
50. Dwyane Wade Endorses Kendrick Meek
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In politics, we often see some of favorite athletes making political endorsements.
Dwyane Wade is just the latest; he made more news this week by endorsing Senatorial candidate Kendrick Meek.
"Kendrick Meek shares my values—giving kids a chance for a better future and helping the people who need it the most. That's why I told Kendrick I'd help his campaign however I could,'' Wade said on Meek's campaign website.
Meek, a Democrat, is currently serving as a congressman for Florida's 17th district.
49. Clippers Announcers Suspended for On-Air Comments
2 of 50During November of 2009, Clippers announcers Ralph Lawler and Mike Smith were both suspended for making politically insensitive comments regarding Memphis Grizzlies center Hamed Haddadi.
Haddadi was the first Iranian center to play in the NBA, and some of the remarks that were made about him should never have been mentioned on the air.
Were the comments inappropriate, racist or both? You decide.
48. Brady Quinn Endorses John McCain
3 of 50Quinn, who was playing for the Cleveland Browns at the time, introduced 2008 Republican presidential candidate John McCain during a political rally. Browns tackle Joe Thomas also flanked Quinn as McCain took the microphone.
Here's a clip of Quinn calling McCain a hero.
47. Gilbert Arenas on Voting
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We know that Gilbert Arenas carries guns, and we also know that he acknowledges being a Republican.
Voting, however, is something that he shies away from. During the 2008, election Arenas posted this little nugget on his blog:
"It’s hard for me to vote, because since I’ve been in the NBA I’ve been in the upper class so I’ve been a Republican. If you have any type of money, you’re a Republican, period. So, it’s hard because you see a better looking president in Obama – I don’t even want to say because he’s black, but he just looks the part – and then you have McCain who is Republican and I’m like, man. I know Obama is going to raise taxes on the upper class from 20-60 percent, that’s what I’m looking at."
He also added the following:
"There’s another reason I don’t vote – I don’t want jury duty. If you’re not registered to vote, you can’t get jury duty. I know that campaign Diddy had a couple years ago, “Vote or Die,” yeah if the alternative is jury duty, I’m going to die. I’m not going to get in one of these cases where they blow the jury members’ houses up to get out of the trial, I’m cool. I’ve seen too many movies."
46. Craig Robinson: Oregon State Basketball Coach
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Robinson, is the head coach of the Oregon State Beavers basketball team.
He is also the brother of Michelle Obama, making him the brother-in-law of the president, Barack Obama.
Not only can the president ball it up, he actually has a family member that's heavily involved in the sport.
45. Lynn Swann: Gubernatorial Candidate
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Swann, a former USC standout football player, four-time Super Bowl champion and Super Bowl X MVP with the Pittsburgh Steelers ran for governor of Pennsylvania in 2006.
In 2008, he endorsed John McCain for president.
44. Kevin Johnson: Mayor Of Sacramento
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Before winning a runoff election to become the mayor of Sacramento, Johnson was an All-Star guard with the Phoenix Suns.
He was also a two-time All Pac-10 conference player during his college years with Cal.
43. Reggie Love: Obama's Body Man
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As a Duke basketball player, he was a part of their 2001 national championship team, and he was a captain of the 2005 squad.
Nowadays he is known as the personal assistant of Barack Obama and frequent basketball partner, also known as his body man.
42. Chris Dudley: Running for Governor of Oregon
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The former Knicks and Trailblazers center has been actively trying to campaign for a seat as the governor of Oregon.
He is the Republican nominee for governor and will be battling former governor John Kitzhaber in the November election.
41. Steve Largent: Former U.S. Congressman
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Largent was a seven-time All-Pro player and one of the best wide receivers in the 1980s.
He played his entire career with the Seattle Seahawks and is a member of the NFL Hall of Fame.
After his football career, Largent became a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for Oklahoma as a Congressman.
He also tried to run for Governor of Oklahoma in 2002 but lost.
40. Heath Shuler: U.S. House of Representatives
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Shuler was drafted third overall in the 1994 NFL draft by the Washington Redskins but is widely viewed as being a bust at the quarterback position.
After his career in football ended, Shuler became a businessman and won a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2007 for North Carolina's 11th district.
39. Jim Bunning: Pitcher And Senator
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Bunning is a Hall of Fame pitcher and a United States Senator for Kentucky.
As a pitcher, he was selected to seven All-Star games and pitched a complete game for the Philadelphia Phillies.
He has since announced that he would not be seeking re-election for Senate in 2010, a seat that has held since 1999.
38. Tom Osborne: Congressman
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The former Nebraska head coach served six years as a U.S. Congressman for the House of Representatives in Nebraska's 3rd district.
After his tenure in politics, Osborne returned to Nebraska where is now the school's athletic director.
37. J.C. Watts: Congressman
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Watts was a former quarterback with the Oklahoma Sooners and a star in the Canadian Football League.
He also served as a member of Oklahoma's 4th congressional district for the U.S. House of Representatives between 1995 to 2003 as a Republican.
36. Sam Wyche: County Council
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He is a former NFL player and head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals.
Wyche won a seat in the County Council for Pickens County in South Carolina.
In 2009, he announced his intention to run for a seat in South Carolina's 3rd congressional district.
35. Jack Kemp: Housing Secretary
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The late Jack Kemp, was a Housing Secretary in the George H.W. Bush administration.
Before that, he was a quarterback for the Buffalo Bills and also played in the CFL.
Kemp also tried to win the Republican nomination for president in the 1988 primaries.
34. Byron White: Supreme Court Justice
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The late Supreme Court Justice was also an All-American halfback for the Colorado Buffaloes.
There he earned the nickname "Whizzer," which stuck with him ever since. White went on to play for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Detroit Lions before entering the Navy during World War II.
33. Paul Pelosi: Husband of Nancy Pelosi
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Pelosi is the millionaire owner of the UFL's Sacramento Mountain Lions.
He is also married to Nancy, who is the current Speaker of the House.
32. Bill Bradley: Former Senator and Hall of Fame NBA Player
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Bradley was a member of the New York Knicks for 10 seasons and a part of two championship seasons.
After he had Hall of Fame basketball career, Bradley went on to serve as a U.S. Senator for three terms, 18 years between 1979-1997.
Bradley also tried to earn the Democratic nomination for president in 2000 but failed.
31. George W. Bush: Texas Rangers
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Before he was the president of the United State and before he was the Governor of Texas, Bush owned a stake in the Texas Rangers.
He bought a partial ownership in the Rangers in 1989 and was the team's managing partner for five years.
Bush often was seen in the stands rooting for his team.
30. George H.W. Bush
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The elder Bush was also a former president and former vice president.
But during his time in Yale, he was the captain of their baseball team and played in two College World Series.
He even met Babe Ruth!
29. Charles Barkley: Governor Candidate?
22 of 50Barkley has always been known for running his mouth and being unafraid to give his opinion.
On more than one occassion he has toyed with the idea of running for the governor of Alabama or even Arizona.
This is the same guy who made a Nike commercial saying, "I am not a role model." And has been in a few bar fights in his past as well as being jailed for a suspected DUI in which he admitted to picking up a prosititute.
28. Linda McMahon: WWE to Senatorial Candidate
23 of 50Along with her husband Vince, the power couple went on to build one of the most recognized brands and names in wrestling—the WWE.
Now she has her sights set on a seat as the Republican candidate for Senator in Connecticut. She's running on the political campaign of fiscal conservatism, lower taxes and job creation.
However, her political opponents have criticized her background in the soap-opera like WWE and question her actual abilities to lead the state.
27. Don King Supporting George W. Bush
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The big famous boxing manager has been a big supporter of George W. Bush during his presidential campaigns.
In fact, King was also a contributor to the former president's campaign fund.
26. Jesse Ventura: Former Minnesota Governor
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Former WWF wrestler Jesse "The Body" Ventura parlayed his success as a wrestler for a surprising win in the gubernatorial race in Minnesota.
Ventura only served one term as Governor and dealt with a few controversies during his tenure.
He once told David Letterman that the streets of St. Paul were built by drunken Irishmen.
25. Jim Ryun: Congressman and Track Star
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He was a member of Congress for the U.S. House from Kansas' 2nd district.
Before that he had a tremendous career as a runner. Ryun was the last American to hold the world record for the fastest mile and also a silver-medalist in the 1968 Mexico City Olympic games.
24. Dave Bing: Mayor Of Detroit
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Bing won a runoff election to become the mayor of Detroit in 2009.
He was named as the one of the NBA's 50 Greatest Players of All-Time, playing 12 seasons in the NBA and becoming a seven-time All-Star.
23. Peter Ueberroth: Candidate for Governor
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The former baseball commissioner ran for Governor as an Independent during California's 2003 recall election.
Ueberroth's campaign focused on the state's economic and budget crisis. But he did not garner enough support and pulled out of the race even though his name still appeared on the ballot.
22. Denny Hastert: Former Speaker of the House
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Hastert was the former Speaker of the House, serving before Nancy Pelosi.
During his college days, he was a wrestler for Wheaton college. But suffered injuries from his wrestling career, serious enough to keep him from fighting in Vietnam.
21. James Harrison Disses Obama
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Harrison is known for dishing out big bone-jarring hits, but he's also know for skipping out on White House visits.
He chose not visit George W. Bush in 2006 after the Steelers won the Super Bowl and also declined the invitation in 2009 to visit Barack Obama.
There's really no deep explanation for Harrison not going to see the president.
"I don't feel the need to go, actually. I don't feel like it's that big a deal to me," Harrison told Pittsburgh station WTAE-TV.
20. Bill Clinton: Razorbacks Fan
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During his tenure as the 42nd president, Clinton was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated and made it known that he was a big Arkansas Razorbacks fan.
In fact, he said that rarely missed a Hogs basketball game on television.
He even went further than watching them on television, Clinton was believed to have been the first sitting president to attend a basketball game.
Source:CNNSI.com
19. Barack Obama: Scrimmages with UNC
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Bill Clinton may have been the first president to attend a basketball game, but Barack Obama took that presidential love for basketball even further.
Obama put on his basketball shoes and scrimmaged with the UNC-Chapel Hill basketball team.
The nation's 44th president is a big basketball fan and even played varsity basketball in high school.
18. Manny Pacquiao for Philippine Congress
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He is an active congressman in the Philippines and an active boxer.
Pacquiao, one of this generation's best fighters, was able to use his success and notoriety to win himself a seat as a member of the Philippine Congress.
17. Arthur Ashe on Apartheid
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In 1970, Ashe, who was an up-and-coming tennis player, requested that South Africa be removed from the International Lawn Tennis Federation as a protest of their apartheid system.
Ashe was also arrested outside the South African embassy in 1985, while he was protesting against apartheid.
16. Joe DiMaggio: Refuses RFK Handshake
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It's been said that when DiMaggio and Robert Kennedy met at Yankee Stadium, Joe D refused to shake his hand.
And the history behind that is somewhat interesting. Apparently, DiMaggio died holding resentment towards that Kennedy clan because he believes it was them that was responsible for Monroe's death.
According to a book that was published after his death, it was revealed that DiMaggio kept Monroe's diary after her death and believed that Kennedy killed the only woman he ever loved.
15. Michael Jordan Declines To Alienate Shoe-Buyers
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During his playing days with the Chicago Bulls, Jordan was called on to endorse a candidate in North Carolina.
Harvey Gantt, the first African-American mayor of Charlotte, was trying to recruit his Airness in his campaign to defeat conservative Republican Jesse Helms in 1990.
Despite Helms background of being a racist, Jordan declined to take sides.
His rumored response to Gantt's plea for help was, "Republicans wear shoes too."
14. Cinco De Mayo Los Suns Jerseys
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In May 2009, the entire Suns team unanimously decided to wear their "Los Suns" jerseys during a playoff game against the San Antonio Spurs in order to show their support for the Latino community in Arizona.
This came soon after a very controversial state law in Arizona that allowed police officers to check a person's immigration status and encouraged racial profiling.
13. Arnold Schwarzenneger: California Governor
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From Mr. Universe as a bodybuilder to becoming The Terminator in movies, to the Governor of California.
The Governator is now a serious politician in California. However, he has taken the blame for a statewide budget crisis and problems in the state's education system.
12. Gerald Ford: Former College Football Player
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Ford was the 38th president of the United States and also a quite the football player during his college years.
Ford played linebacker and center for the Michigan Wolverines, where he helped lead the team to national championships in 1932 and 1933.
11. The Mitchell Report on Baseball
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The use of steroids in major league baseball was so bad that commissioner Bud Selig authorized George Mitchell, the former Democratic Senator from Maine to investigate the use of PED's in baseball.
The result of his investigation was a 409-page report that implicated some of baseball's biggest names.
The names included star pitchers Roger Clemens, Eric Gagne and Andy Pettite, among others.
10. Don Imus: Controversial Comments
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The radio host was once associated with an extremely controversial remark he made about the women players for the Rutgers basketball team before the national championship game in 2007.
Imus was said to have referred to the female players as "nappy-headed hos."
His was immediately scrutinized by the public and suspended from his job.
9. Steve Nash Anti-War Shirt
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Nash showed that he was anti-war by wearing a t-shirt that said "No War—Shoot for Peace" during the 2003 NBA All-Star Game festivities.
The Canadian citizen was clearly not all about basketball during the weekend as he made his political views known.
"I believe that us going to war would be a mistake," he told reporters. "Being a humanitarian, I think that war is wrong in 99.9 percent of all cases. I think it has much more to do with oil or some sort of distraction, because I don't feel as though we should be worrying about Iraq."
8. Rudy Giuliani: Yankees Fan
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He was the famous mayor of New York during the September 11 attacks. But he has also been associated with being a diehard Yankees fan.
Giuliani even considered running for president in 2008 but lost the Republican endorsement to John McCain.
7. Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf: Doesn't Stand for National Anthem
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In 1996, Abdul-Rauf refused to stand during the playing of the U.S. national anthem, citing a conflict in his religious beliefs.
Abdul-Rauf stated that he flag was symbol of oppression and didn't want to stand and acknowledge it. The NBA suspended him for his refusal to stand, but the suspension only lasted for one game.
A compromise was reached when Abdul-Rauf agreed to stand, bow his head and keep his eyes closed while the anthem played.
6. Tommie Smith and John Carlos: Civil Rights Protest
45 of 50These two track stars became known for a non-violent display during the 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games.
In support of civil rights, both athletes bowed their heads during the "Star-Spangled Banner" and raised their fists, wearing black gloves.
Smith raised his right fist in the air as a symbol of black power. Carlos raised his left fist in the air a symbol of black unity. Smith also wore a black vest to show black pride and both wore black socks (with no shoes) as a sign of black poverty.
5. Tim Hardaway: Anti-Gay Remarks
46 of 50"I hate gay people," Tim Hardaway said flatly in a televised interview, responding to John Amaechi's admission of being gay.
Although Amaechi was already retired, Hardaway's comments were clearly insensitive and inappropriate.
Hardaway later apologize for his remarks and the NBA removed him from participating in All-Star festivities in 2007.
4. Sarah Palin Sportscaster
47 of 50This clip is a favorite.
Before becoming Governor of Alaska or a mayor or even a hockey mom, she was a sportscaster.
According to a few interviews, Sarah Heath as she was known wanted to fulfill a lifelong dream of being a sports broadcaster.
Then she went on to make more noise as a politician.
Did you know she even participated in the Miss Alaska beauty pageant?
3. Pat Tillman Leaves Football and Enlists
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Pat Tillman was an All-Pro safety with the Arizona Cardinals, but was so affected by the events of September 11, that he chose to forego a football career and join the military.
Tillman eventually became an Army Ranger and had several tours in Afghanistan until he was killed in 2004. The government first reported that he was killed by enemy fire, but upon further investigation, it was revealed that Tillman succumbed to friendly fire.
2. Muhammad Ali Avoids the Military Draft
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Ali made a big political statement in 1967 when he chose not to join the military and avoid the draft because of his opposition to the Vietnam War, citing religious beliefs.
He was later arrested, found guilty of draft evasion and had his boxing license suspended.
Although he did not go to jail, Ali would not fight for four years until his appeal reached the U.S. Supreme Court.
1. Jesse Owens Wins Four Medals in Nazi-Germany
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Owens won four gold medals in Germany during the 1936 Olympic Games.
His performance dispelled Adolf Hitler's claim that blacks were a much inferior race to Aryans. It was a remarkable performance that surprised the entire world.
Hitler never shook Owens' hand during the games, as he only chose to shake hands with German winners.
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