Since Election Day Tuesday, Newsweek sports reporter Dan Cancian cranked out five stories on athletes and coaches taking different sides of the political spectrum. The most notable story centers on former Milwaukee Bucks Coach George Karl (he was fired 17 years ago in 2003) saying his team of social justice warriors pushed Joe Biden to victory in Wisconsin.
Karl (in above photo) expressed satisfaction with Biden's win in swing state Wisconsin and "attributed it to the Bucks players' efforts in campaigning for social justice and racial equality, a message he felt was particular resounding with the young voters," Cancian reports.
"I like to believe the Bucks effort this summer in helping prioritize social justice had an impact here, especially with younger voters," Karl said.
Like all the other NBA teams that finished their seasons in the Florida bubble, the Bucks focused heavily on social justice and advocating against President Trump. They boycotted playoff games against Orlando in August after the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Other sports teams followed their lead. Many NBA players actively supported Biden and the Democrats.
Another Cancian story dealt with former football star and Trump friend Herschel Walker criticizing Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) for saying she will "never forgive" Black Americans who voted for Donald Trump:
"For those Black young men who think somehow they can align themselves with Trump, not only are they terrible mistaken, any of them showing their face, I will never, ever forgive them for undermining the possibility to help their own people and their own communities."
Walker disagreed with Rep. Waters, saying African Americans are shifting toward Trump because they felt let down by Democratic administrations. Speaking on Fox Business Varney & Co., Tuesday, Walker said:
"She's been in office for a long, long time. Have you seen her pass any laws for social justice? Have you seen her pass anything to make anything equal? I don't want to hear them [the Democrats] putting the blame on anyone else.
"Now she is upset that people are starting to educate themselves and see policies that fit them. [...] So don't come here to me with this rhetoric right now."
Baseball retiree Aubrey Huff lent support to President Trump's Tuesday night statement that he was winning the election and that "major fraud" was being committed.
"Trump speech wasn't divisive," Huff tweeted. "He's been fighting fake news for four years and this was no different. He has this thing won handily, and they are stalling to figure out how to steal this election."
Cancian pushed back on Huff because the two-time World Series champ had predicted Trump would win California.
Among his other election stories, Cancian featured the New Orleans Pelicans’ Josh Hart and his coach, Stan Van Gundy, heaping hate on Trump. Hart called the president a racist and said the amount of support Trump received speaks volumes about America's social issues.
"The fact that people really voting for this racist to stay in power shows you how this country really feel behind closed doors," Hart Tweeted.
Previously, Hart urged Democrats to vote and tweeted, "We need this dude out of the office."
"Absolutely right," responded Van Gundy. "But to be honest, many don't even keep it behind closed doors."
Dwyane Wade, the retired Miami Heat player, jumped in on that Twitter thread, charging racism had worsened in the U.S. since Trump's election in 2016:
"Especially not since 45 [Trump is the 45th U.S. President] has been in office."
Cancian's Hart story also mentioned that former NFL players Walker and Jack Brewer and former baseball slugger Darryl Strawberry repeatedly dismiss accusations of Trump as a racist.
A fifth Cancian story explained that former UFC heavyweight champion and "outspoken" Trump supporter Tito Ortiz won election to the city council in Huntington Beach, Calif., and demanded a recount of California's votes. His campaign slogan was "Make Huntington Beach Great Again."
By the way, Biden-supporting athletes were not referred to by Cancian as "outspoken."
