Line of Scrimmage: Can politics and sports coincide?

One of the most interesting and worrisome elections this past midterm season was the race for senate in Georgia. The bout was between incumbent senator Raphael Warnock and former University of Georgia star Herschel Walker, who repeatedly expressed his far-right and absurdist beliefs. Much of the worry for this election was that it had gone to a run-off and Walker was very close to claiming a seat at the Senate. Warnock beat Walker by a slim margin, 51% to 49%, to retain his seat.

Walker’s qualifications, as well as his policies, caused concern among many Georgia voters. With his allegations of domestic abuse latching onto his campaign, as well as political stances like being against abortion, it’s made him an easy person to dislike. Even those who sided with his political views started questioning his policies when there were allegations of Walker paying for abortions in the early 2000s, going against his anti-abortion stance. 

With no real background in politics, many feared that if he were to be elected into the Senate, it would be a detrimental loss for Democrats. Considering that Walker’s campaign managers had to limit the amount of public appearances he made to prevent him from spewing more controversy, it should’ve sparked a red flag for many that he isn’t the best candidate to vote for. But I suppose I can only speak for myself.

Another athlete who made talks about becoming a political figure is retired NFL and Cardinals star Larry Fitzgerald. While it was just speculation, there were talks of Fitzgerald possibly running for president, but Fitzgerald dismissed those claims saying he was uninterested. 

The likely future Hall of Famer wide receiver was friends with John McCain, who served as Arizona’s senator from 1987 till his passing in 2018. This relationship, it caused a lot of people to wonder if Fitzgerald would ever throw his name on the ballot and run for a position in government. Considering his stardom in Arizona, it wouldn’t have surprised many if he were to run for something in the Grand Canyon state.

Taking a look at other sports figures who aim to enter a political role in their respective nations, one that has stuck out to me ever since it was announced was that of Liberian President George Weah. If you don’t know much about Liberia or soccer, I’d assume this is the first time you’re hearing his name. The Liberian was one of the most successful strikers in the ‘90s, even winning the Ballon d’Or, the award for the best player in the world, in 1995.

With the success he achieved as an athlete, he became a household figure in Liberia. Soon after his retirement, Weah pursued a career in politics. In 2005, he ran for president, but fell short. He later ran for Senate in Montserrado County in 2014, winning the election that set up his eventual presidential campaign . He faced Joseph Boakai in the 2018 presidential election, winning the popular vote by a whopping 61.5 points. 

However his tenure as president hasn’t lived up to his promises for the Liberian people. Much of his time has been spent battling corruption scandals. One of the promises he made during his campaign was to fight against the corruption that had been plaguing the nation for years. With many of those issues still remaining under Weah’s reign, it’s clear to see that he hasn’t seen much success. 

It’s not to say he hasn’t tried to do something to help the economy of Liberia, as he cut his wages by and put salary caps on government officials. Weah has also made it a point to improve the roads, schools and buildings in Liberia, as well as providing scholarships to students seeking further education. With Liberia’s general election coming up this year, it’ll be interesting to see how Weah fares in his campaign to get re-elected. 

As shown in recent years, celebrities with no political background running for positions in government are getting more popular, not just in sports. It makes me uneasy to think about the large population of people who might value someone’s athletic achievements over their political capabilities. I’m just hoping that if a sports figure in the United States does end up winning a position in government in the near future, that everything goes swimmingly. But as of right now, I don’t know if I have much faith in that.

Jason Lopez Lopez is a senior writing about the intersection of sports and sociopolitical issues in his column “Line of Scrimmage.” He is also a sports editor at the Daily Trojan.