 |
| Adam Taliaferro |
In class on October 6th, 2011, we discussed the role of politics in sport. We discussed such topics of political connections in sport like safe guarding the public, maintaining fitness, promoting prestige and nationalism. Another topic we discussed was the political uses of sport. This is also discussed in Coakley’s text on page 448. This article is a good example of how sometimes former athletes can use their athletic career to help them get elected in office. A former Penn State football player, Adam Taliaferro, is attempting to run for a position in New Jersey. He was known for his tragedy on the field, when he fell victim to a severe injury while attempting to make a tackle. He endured a severe spinal cord injury, which left him paralyzed.
 |
| Jesse Ventura |
This is a pretty good example of an how an athlete can run for office and gain recognition because of his/her athletic past. I’m not implying that is what Mr. Taliaferro is doing, I am just making an observation that this has been seen before. Coakley, on page 448, explains that many former male athletes and coaches in the U.S. have used their popularity from sports to gain support for their political candidacy. The most noticeable former athlete who did this was Jesse Ventura, a former pro-wrestler, who was elected Governor of Minnesota in 1998. Coakley also suggests that some athletes use their sport personas to increase their legitimacy as being “tough.” All in all, former athletes using their athletic celebrity status to gain more support from voters happens almost every election season, and some argue they continue to do this to stay in the public eye because they have a hard time dealing with retirement and disappearing from the spotlight.
No comments:
Post a Comment