Liberal professional athletes. Do they exist?

[devilgrrl]

If so, who are they? I can't think of any off hand..... I've heard that the QB of the Bears is... anyone know?

:shrug:

[tcfrogs]

1. Now backup QB of the Bears

Kyle Orton. He's stated publicly that he's a Democrat.

[ProfessorGAC]

6. He Even Used The Word "Liberal"

In an interview with "Our Guy" in the Tribune, he used the term "Liberal Democrat"!

That's a good thing.
The Professor

[Lefty48197]

24. Said he'll probably pursue a career in politics after football.

Run Kyle Run!

[fishwax]

2. There are many

For whatever reason, they seem more prominent in basketball than sports like football or baseball, but they certainly exist. Franco Harris has contributed heavily to democrats, as has Alex Karras in football. In baseball, Hank Aaron has contributed heavily to democrats. In basketball, Bill Walton is a famous liberal, as is Dean Smith, and though Jordan was frequently apolitical, he has contributed to Dems lately.

Bill Bradley, basketball hall of famer, was a great liberal senator.

In Oklahoma, Sooner QB Jack Mildren is a famous (though not politically successful) Democrat.

Heath Shuler, who was a superstar at Tennesseee and played with the Redskins and Saints in the NFL, is running for Congress in NC as a Dem.

Barry Switzer, the great HC of the Oklahoma Sooners and Super Bowl Champion with the Dallas Cowboys, campaigned for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Brad Henry in OK in 2002.

Jake Plummer, though I'm not entirely certain, seems to express Democratic/liberal ideals.

That's just what I can think of off the top of my head, but I'm sure there are more ...

[Robeson]

3. I'm diggin' Jake's later day Jim Morrison look, too!.....

...

[fishwax]

4. here's a story that grooves on his JM look

I don't know if this proves he's a dem, but there is much liberal attitude to it :)

http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_3382006

[Robeson]

5. That's a great article. Thanks for forwarding it.....

...and you're right, whatever his party affiliation, there's a lot of liberal there....:thumbsup:

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

50. He was a good friend of Pat Tillman. He has all the makings of an

America loving liberal. MKJ

[fishwax]

54. Agreed!

[underpants]

7. Pat Tillman was very anti-war in Iraq and VERY anti-Bush

http://www.ivaw.net/index.php?id=175

Her contempt was directed at a September 25 San Francisco Chronicle story reporting that former NFL star and Army Ranger war hero Pat Tillman, who was killed in Afghanistan last year, believed the US war on Iraq was "f***ing illegal" and counted Noam Chomsky among his favorite authors. It must have been quite a moment for Coulter, who upon Tillman's death described him in her inimitably creepy fashion as "an American original-virtuous, pure and masculine like only an American male can be." She tried to discredit the story as San Francisco agitprop, but this approach ran into a slight problem: The article's source was Pat Tillman's mother, Mary.

[kick-ass-bob]

8. Quite a few. Rasheed Wallace refused to meet the president

after they won the championship.

Others did too, and there are many more.

[1gobluedem]

9. Many of the Pistons are liberals

Another reason to like them!

[PDittie]

10. Adonal Foyle (center, NBA's Golden State Warriors)

In 2001, he founded Democracy Matters, a non-partisan student organization, as an effort to counteract political apathy on college campuses. The organizations signature issue is campaign finance reform. Active on over 30 college campuses, Democracy Matters involves hundreds of students and faculty nationwide through teach-ins, letter writing and petition campaigns, educational seminars, and voter registration drives.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adonal_Foyle

It claims non-partisanship, but I don't think too mnay of those causes are Republican. ;)

[underpants]

11. Here is a fairly complete list

http://www.newsmeat.com/sports_political_donations/

[GOPisEvil]

14. Bernie!!!! Nooooooo!!!!

[underpants]

16. Yeah I know

Oh well he is still my guy anyway

[friesianrider]

17. Soooo...Bill Belichick is a Republican, eh?

Just another reason to hate the pansy-ass Patriots. Hope their sniveling, whiney supporters on here see it.

[fishwax]

18. No, Belichick is a Dem (perhaps even a liberal)

He wasn't particularly active in the '04 campaign, but he did support John Kerry, and is on record as a Dem. He made one contribution to a Republican in an Ohio primary, and that candidate appears to be a personal friend. This is one of the drawbacks to drawing too many firm conclusions from Newsmeat.

But, of course, I wouldn't begrudge an Eagles fan the chance to take a shot at the Pats :) I'm not really a Patriots fan, but I do like their liberal ethic (refusing to be introduced individually at the opening of Super Bowl 36, for example).

[WildEyedLiberal]

55. Hostile much? nt

[fishwax]

19. There's a danger in drawing conclusions from Newsmeat

I'm sure there information is accurate, and I love looking through their information, but as far as applying liberal/conservative labels (or even Dem/Republican labels), that can be tricky.

Phil Fulmer, for instance, has donated over 4000 dollars, entirely to Democrats, but looking more closely it appears all that money went to his former star Heath Shuler, so I'm not sure we can conclude Fulmer is even a democrat ...

[Robeson]

22. I recall he also attended a function for Gore in 2000....

...plus as you said he's lobbied for Shuler, who is also a Democrat, so most indications are he's a Dem.

[fishwax]

26. That's cool. I didn't know that about stumping for Gore

I assumed the Shuler thing was helping out a former player, but if there's further evidence he's a dem, I'm all for it :)

[kikiek]

23. Good news about Zygi Wilf. I like him even more. 2 were to Wellstone!

[KitchenWitch]

30. I am finding more and more things to like about Zygi Wilf

:woohoo:

[Robeson]

31. Which makes me even more proud of him, especially since he fired...

...this guy...

[KitchenWitch]

32. exactly!

:woohoo:

[Oreo]

38. If I ever see that bonehead again it'll be too soon

Good to see Wilf is a good guy.

[Conker]

60. Yuck.

I'm glad he was fired too.I'm also glad that Joe Gibbs' Redskins lost along with Belichek's Patriots.I noticed most of the coaches are Republicans.

[SaveElmer]

58. I'm liking Zygi more every day...

Contrary to the whining of some commentators, I think he handled the Tice firing and Childress hiring very well...

And Childress really seems to be on the ball...

[Captain Hilts]

29. I'd ALWAYS heard Barkley was a Rep. Great!

No wonder he's such good friends with Michael Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser.

Joe Theismann's a surprise on the blue side.

[Awsi Dooger]

34. I agree, Theismann's contributions surprised me the most

His on-air comments always made me conclude he was a Republican, especially after the 2000 election when gushed about "all the terrific people in this new cabinet." In fairness, I do remember Theismann talking positively about a meeting and photo op with Jimmy Carter. They even showed the picture of Theismann and Carter on the air during Sunday night football. BTW, the ESPN play by play guy on those telecasts, Mike Patrick, was a very liberal Democrat who mentioned it several times over the years.

David Duval has also said he is a registered Democrat, virtually unheard of for a pro golfer. Too bad Duval is in a prolonged slump and may never be a major factor again.

Champion boxer Lamon Brewster is a vocal Democrat who said in the ring after a fight in 2004 that he was voting for Kerry, and later had a photo op with Kerry.

Here's a few paragraphs from this related link prior to the 2004 election: http://www.opednews.com/thoreau_102604_athletes.htm

"So it's important to note that Sen. John Kerry has received support from many current and retired athletes himself.

Those include NBA player Grant Hill; former NBA players Bill Walton and Bill Bradley; tennis player Andre Agassi; former tennis player John McEnroe; former NFL players Franco Harris and Alex Karras; former wrestler Jesse Ventura; boxer Lamon Brewster; and Julie Foudy and Abby Wambach, U.S. women's soccer players on the team that won the 2004 Olympic gold medal.

Then there are many who gave money to only Democratic politicians, but not Kerry specifically, so they probably support Kerry over Bush. They include NFL player Emmitt Smith; former NFL players Pettis Norman, Calvin Hill and Chris Zorich; former Major League Baseball player Hank Aaron; former NBA players Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Julius "Dr. J" Erving, Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, Isiah Thomas and Tom McMillen; boxer Evander Holyfield; and former tennis players Martina Navratilova and Billie Jean King."

[DaveinMD]

40. McMillen

was a Congressman from Maryland. Got screwed in redistricting back in the day.

[safi0]

41. Grant Hill's

Mom was roommates with Hillary Clinton.

[spooky3]

47. A lot of other tennis players are liberal despite privileged backgrounds

and, of course, many of the best players are not American. In fact, about the only ones I know of who are conservative (and of course I don't know the preferences of everyone!!!) are the retired Pete Sampras and his buddy Tim Henman--and possibly the retired Chris Evert (with her charitable events featuring Bush 41). I think Pam Shriver was once a staunch Repub. who has evolved into blue.

John McEnroe has donated to liberals & liberal causes.

It's probably the most truly international sport (other than soccer).

[hasbro]

53. chuckles is an independant

The whole republican thing came out of a joke. I'm rich i must be Republican.

He endorsed clinton.

As a born Alabamian I hope he does end up in the Governor's Mansion. At least I know he'd beat the shit out of some people in Montgomery.

[Oreo]

37. ACK! Mario Lemiuex gave money to Santorum

LEMIEUX, MARIO
SEWICKLEY, PA 15143
PITTSBURGH PENGUINS

SANTORUM, RICHARD J (R)
Senate - PA
SANTORUM 2000 $500
primary 10/11/99


I'm in shock

[WernhamHogg]

42. I saw that the other day!

I have never been a huge Lemieux fan, but until I saw that he donated to Rick Scrotum, I thought he at least had SOME class...
:puke:

[Conker]

59. I'm sure part of the reason he donated was for the new arena.

[SaveElmer]

57. Dean Smith being a Democrat...

Must drive North Carolinians crazy!!!

[nickgutierrez]

12. I'm guessing Lebron James is

After what he did for Katrina victims - and we never would have even known about it, had somebody from Costco not called and told the media about it.

[Tummler]

13. There are many in the NBA

Some of the more outspoken are Etan Thomas (Wizards) and Steve Nash (Suns).

[friesianrider]

15. Ohhhh yes.

I only know of my home team, but I can personally say there are a NUMBER of Philadelphia Eagles who are huge Democrats.

[DaveinMD]

20. Harold Baines

who played for the Orioles and White Sox is a big Dem. Len Elmore, the college Basketball announcer and former UMD great is as well. I met him at a Kathleen Kennedy Townsend event a couple of years back. Tom McMillan was a Dem Congressman and on that same MD team as Elmore. And of course, there was Bill Bradley.

[Bluzmann57]

21. Bradley was here when he ran for president in 2000

and I asked him a question. It was, "Who was better, Russell or Chamberlain?" I think it sort of shocked him, but he answered the question in true politcally correct fashion. He said, "Russell won more championships, but Chamberlain was an offensive force. It's impossible to say." I just chuckled, as did he. I think he got a kick out of it.

[DaveinMD]

25. he was my idol

growing up. A liberal Dem and hall of fame basketball player. I wanted to live his life.

[jakefrep]

36. Piece of trivia about Tom McMillen

...I beleive he was the first high school athlete ever to make the cover of Sports Illustrated.

[fishwax]

27. I don't know how we've avoided mentioning Jim Brown

I believe he was and is very liberal. :)

[Captain Hilts]

28. Dean Smith's a Democrat. Rude surprise for NC Reps that wanted him to run

for office.

[jakefrep]

33. Would Bode Miller qualify as a liberal

....with his rather, um, laissez-faire attitude?

[erpowers]

35. Kobe and Phil

I do not know if too many people will be happy with Kobe being a Democrat, but I read today that Kobe at some point said he was a Democrat. The article also mentioned Phil Jackson was a Democrat. I also read a Wikipedia article about Jackson that claimed that he was part of the counterculture during the 60s. It is believed that his being part of the counterculture made it hard for him to get a job coaching when he first tried.

[britpopper]

43. As a huge Lakers fan...

Kobe is a confirmed Democrat and his old buddy Shaq is too, in fact, Shaq was way more vocal in Anti-Bush talk back at election time...

[erpowers]

45. Didn't Know

I did not know about Shaq. I heard the comment he made comparing himself to Bush so I was not sure he was not a Republican. This was the comment where he said, in reference to his return to Staples Center, that "he was like Bush he had built Staples Center".

[NJ Democrats]

46. Shaq's a Dem!

Hooray!
I'm also happy to announce that although I'm pretty sure George Steinbrenner is a Republican he has given more money to Dems, and supports Sen. Ben Nelson's (Florida)re-election campain.
Did you see how much money David Stern has given to Dems? $700,000!
Also, I think Alonzo Mourning (Heat) and Andre Agassi are Dems.

[WhollyHeretic]

39. Carlos Delgado has been protesting the war in Iraq for several years now

[WilliamPitt]

44. Steve Nash

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0325-09.htm

Nash Speaks Mind Against War in Iraq
by Vittorio Tafur

APPARENTLY A COUNTRY music concert is the wrong place for a war protest, the Academy Awards show is OK as long as you keep it short, and a basketball game ... well, that's still up in the air for debate.

When the lead singer of the Dixie Chicks told a London audience that she was ashamed that she and President Bush are from the same state, many Texas radio stations refused to play the group's songs. She quickly apologized. Former Santa Clara and current Dallas Mavericks star Steve Nash, though, has not apologized for his anti-war comments and said fan reaction to his stance has been "unbelievably positive."

It all started with Nash wearing a T-shirt to All-Star activities in Atlanta that said, "No War. Shoot for Peace." Nash continued his protest of the war, as reporters asked him about his shirt and his beliefs, up until and after the first U.S. bombs hit Iraq last week. Those who haven't been receptive to Nash are those that don't think a basketball player should be using his forum to speak out on politics, especially a Canadian basketball player.

"From the start, I spoke out just because I don't want to see the loss of life," Nash told ESPN. "People are mistaking anti-war as being unpatriotic. This has nothing to do with the fact that I'm from Canada. This is a much bigger issue. But now that we're in battle, I hope for as many lives to be spared as possible (and) as little violence as possible before a resolution."

Dallas played San Antonio last week and Spurs center David Robinson, a former Navy officer, didn't like what Nash had to say. He also took exception to Nash's teammate, Nick Van Exel, saying the war initiative gave Americans a bad name.

...more...

[Bluzmann57]

48. One thing about pro atletes

You have to realize that the average athlete isn't going to be a pro for a long period of time and they have to take advantage of the opportunity while they can. Therefore, I believe that's why more of them don't really get political. If one has a chance to be set for life while still a young person, why not go for it? I think that in reality there are more Liberal pro athletes than we realize. The owners, now that's a different story. The majority of them are conservative and since they pay the salaries...well as I ststed it is probably in the athlete's best financial interest to remain silent, at least until they are either established or done.

[NJ Democrats]

49. I have to disagree about the owners.

The owners that ARE political are more often Dems than Republicans.
EX: Bob Kraft, Wilf, etc.

[Reverend_Smitty]

51. and as much as it pains me to say

Steinbrenner is a big Democratic contributor

[Captain Hilts]

56. Steinbrenner was also mixed up with illegal Nixon contributions. nt

[Reverend_Smitty]

61. Ok now I can go back to disliking him for his politics

lol

[safi0]

52. I read a little blurb

Talking about Baseball owners who gave to either Bush or Kerry. I think it said 8 gave to Bush while 2 gave to Kerry.