Star athletes, coaches ecstatic about Obama
'If you teared up, it was acceptable because it was that deep,' McNabb says
 Evan Agostini / Getty Images Eagles quarterbacks Donovan McNabb, left, and Patriots counterpart Tom Brady, center, talk with Barack Obama at the White House correspondents dinner on April 30, 2005. |
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Sports and politics |
Donovan McNabb grew up in Chicago never believing he would see a black man become president.
Perhaps that was one reason why the 31-year-old Philadelphia Eagles quarterback didn’t register to vote until this election.
McNabb, though, had met Barack Obama, believed in his ideas and supported his policies. Watching Obama deliver his victory speech at Grant Park brought back all sorts of memories.
“It reminded me of, obviously, when Martin Luther King spoke and the messages that he spoke about,” McNabb said Wednesday. “As a man, if you teared up, it was acceptable because it was that deep.
“For the first time, I had the opportunity to vote and I can say that I was a part of it,” he said.
From the NFL to the PGA Tour to the baseball general managers’ meeting to a tennis tournament in the Middle East, sports paused Wednesday to reflect on the election.
Several Eagles hollered Obama’s motto, “Yes, we can!” in the locker room. Dolphins linebacker Joey Porter was among several NFL players wearing Obama shirts a day after the win over Sen. John McCain.
“Inspiring and transformational,” NBA commissioner David Stern said. “Hooray for the USA.”
Doc Rivers: 'I just want you to vote'
Moments after Obama closed out McCain, the Boston Celtics finished off their win at Houston.
“I thought it was really interesting right after the game, the guys were celebrating Obama’s victory more than we just beat the Rockets on the road. I thought that was really cool,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers said.
“Like I told them three or four days ago,” he said. “I told them, ‘I don’t care who you vote for. That’s none of my business. I just want you to vote. I just want you to be involved.”’
Oregon State men’s basketball coach Craig Robinson had a special rooting interest: His sister, Michelle, is Obama’s wife.
Robinson was in Chicago for the celebration Tuesday night and was back in Corvallis, Ore., for practice Wednesday.
“It doesn’t get much better than that,” he said. “Although I would imagine that winning a Pac-10 championship would feel pretty good right about now.”
Several players and golfer Boo Weekley wondered how Obama’s tax plan would affect their wallet. Previously, Weekley said he planned to retire once he reached $8 million in career winnings.
“That number went up, as of last night,” he said before the Children’s Miracle Network Classic at Disney.
Minnesota Vikings defensive end Jared Allen also thought about the tax implications.
Vikings' Allen: 'You better do what you promised'
“It’s a sad day for me. I’m a McCain supporter. There is nothing I can do about it now. Our paychecks will be cut in half,” he said. “It is what it is and McCain, I still love you, and Obama, you better do what you promised because the whole country is watching.”
Not to worry, Saints linebacker Scott Fujita said.
“We heard so much about how he’s going to be taxing everybody who makes over $250,000. That’s everybody in our business. So everyone’s going to be affected by that,” he said. “And my argument to them was maybe there’s a chance our tax dollars are going to be spent a little more wisely than they have in the past.”
New York Jets nose tackle Kris Jenkins thought about his taxes, but, more importantly, his three young children and his half-brother serving in Iraq.
“I can’t be selfish enough to think about keeping all of my money and just being in a better tax bracket because I have to be sure that I do my part for the world to be a better place for my kids,” he said.
LeBron: 'The speech was, wow'
LeBron James campaigned for Obama and arrived at Wednesday night’s game wearing a T-shirt with the president-elect’s likeness on the front. The Cleveland star contributed $20,000 to a committee supporting Obama, participated in an early-voter registration rally and hosted a free concert at Quicken Loans Arena with rap star Jay-Z to support the Illinois senator.
James recently met Obama when they both were on David Letterman’s show. The Cavaliers’ franchise player liked that Obama played hoops in the hours leading up to his election.
“They say that’s a ritual for him, like me coming in early and getting a massage before the game,” James said. “It got him prepared. The speech was, wow. If it takes basketball for him to say things like that, then let him do it.”
Grant Hill and the Phoenix Suns kept tabs on the election during their win at New Jersey. The Suns were on the team bus when they found out Obama had won.
“It would have been nice to have been at home with the family, taking it all in, but we were playing and trying to get updates while we were playing, during timeouts. I will always remember playing against Jersey on Nov. 4, 2008,” Hill said.
“We talk about the black vote, but white America is the one that makes the difference, and they voted for an African-American. You can have all the black votes you want, but if you don’t have the white vote, you ain’t going to win. It just shows a lot,” he said.
Venus: U.S. became really intolerant of minorities
Venus and Serena Williams embraced Obama’s victory during the WTA Tour’s season-ending tournament in Doha, Qatar.
“America is a wonderful place. I love my country, and I love living there. I love my passport. But also it’s a country that almost since its beginning, it was supposed to be a place where people were escaping intolerance. It became a country that was really intolerant of different minorities and skin colors,” Venus said.
“My dad grew up in Louisiana, a place where he was called ’boy’ and shown no respect. Where he couldn’t say anything. His mother was a poor sharecropper,” she said. “So I think it’s amazing that America has the opportunity to have someone who is a minority of mixed race or whatever you want to call it.”
Sister Serena saw it the same way.
“I was just thinking about everything, thinking about Martin Luther King and Malcolm X and all the pioneers. ... All of these people, Arthur Ashe, who led the way for us. It’s amazing,” she said.”
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