20 athletes who had notable careers in politics

Playing for the Detroit Pistons from 1966 until 1975, Bing was one of the first starts for the franchise. He won Rookie of the Year and made the NBA’s 50th and 75th anniversary teams. Then, without much political history, Bing decided to run for mayor of Detroit at a time when the vibes were quite bad. Look up Kwame Kilpatrick sometime, and you’ll get why voters were probably just happy to vote for the guy who was good at basketball. With all due respect, Bing was not a good mayor, but he wasn’t mired in scandal, and he helped shepherd the city from the Kilpatrick mess to an era of actual politicians running the city’s government.

We’ll consider professional wrestling a sport to include Ventura. That’s because you likely know his name, and know that he, remarkably, became governor of Minnesota. Jesse “The Body” Ventura was a familiar face in wrestling circles, and became an actor as well. Then, as an outsider political candidate (he spent part of his term in office as a registered independent), Ventura was elected to govern the state of Minnesota. He later had a TV show called “Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura,” which speaks to what kind of politician he was.

Kemp represented three districts in the House of Representatives (the joys of gerrymandering) in the state of New York. However, he’s best remembered as Bob Dole’s running mate in 1996. Of course, Dole did not become president, so that was that for Kemp. He may have been chosen for the role in part because he was a military man, and in part because some may have remembered his athletic career. Kemp briefly played quarterback in the NFL, but he was a star in the AFL in the 1960s. In fact, in the days before the Super Bowl brought the NFL and AFL together, Kemp led the Bills to two AFL championships.

If you are the sort of person who watches the NBA All-Star Weekend celebrity game, you may have thought to yourself, “Who is this Arne Duncan dude who is crushing it in this game?” Some middle-aged guy out there dropping double-doubles? Well, Duncan was Secretary of Education under Barack Obama. Before that, though, he played basketball at Harvard, played pro hoops in Australia, and was a member of the U.S. 3x3 team for the FIBA World Championships in 2014.

If we’re balancing “political career” and “athletic career,” Bradley might come out as the best of the bunch. After all, he’s in the Basketball Hall of Fame. That’s how good he was in college, for the Knicks, and for Team USA who he won an Olympic gold with in 1964. Soon after retiring, Bradley became a Democratic senator for the state of New Jersey. He served in that role until 1997. After that, the Princeton alum attempted to earn the Democratic nod in 2000, though he lost out to Al Gore.

Allred is a newer addition to this list. After playing linebacker at Baylor in his native Texas, he spent four seasons with the Tennessee Titans. While some of that time was spent on the practice squad, Allred made 32 appearances for the Titans. A neck injury in 2010 led Allred to retire and go to law school. After getting his law degree, he returned to Texas and got into politics. Allred represented the 32nd district, which is in the Dallas area, until he decided to take on Ted Cruz for the Senate. That didn’t work, but Allred is only in his early forties. He has time to bounce back.

It’s remarkable that the Houston Oilers gave up on Largent before he ever played a game in the NFL. The Oilers cut him, he signed with the Seahawks, and the rest is history. Twice he led the NFL in receiving yards, and Largent ended up in the Hall of Fame. Although, 15 of his catches and 261 of his yards came when he broke from the NFLPA players strike in 1987 to play against some scabs. We’re talking a little trash because when Largent represented Oklahoma’s first district in the House of Representatives he espoused some abhorrent views. He also ran for governor of the state, but lost.

Shuler finished as the runner-up for the Heisman in his final season quarterbacking Tennessee, which led to him being the third-overall pick in the 1994 NFL Draft. However, be it with Washington or New Orleans, Shuler was a bust. After he retired, Shuler entered politics, and he became a representative for the state of North Carolina. However, while he was a Democrat, think “Joe Manchin” when it comes to his politics. After gerrymandering redrew his district, Shuler opted not to run again and retired from politics.

Look, “vaguely-defined diplomat” and “Ambassador to Belize” are not robust political jobs. That being said, Kwan is here because of her athletic career. She’s one of the most famous athletes to enter “politics,” such as it is. Though her two medals for figure skating were a silver and a bronze, Kwan won the world championship five times, so she was no slouch on the ice.

Here’s to name recognition. Bochenski played college hockey at North Dakota, which is in the city of Grand Forks. After that, he had a decent NHL career, playing in 158 games and scoring 28 goals. Hey, that’s more than 99.9 percent of people to ever lace up their skates will do. Bochenski then became a star player in the KHL. After retiring, he ran for mayor of Grand Forks in 2020 As a local legend, he won comfortably.

Brown played outfield for the Boston Beaneaters. Since we just mentioned the Boston Beaneaters, you know he’s an old-school name. Indeed, Brown’s last MLB game came in 1902, but his political career was decidedly more successful. He was briefly governor of New Hampshire in the 1920s, and then for one term in the 1930s was one of the senators for the state. Not bad for a Beaneater. (Brown is the guy on the left in the photo, which is from his Dartmouth days)

Some of Bunning’s successes come with caveats. For example, he’s in the Baseball Hall of Fame, but as a veteran’s committee selection aka the guys in the Hall nobody cares about. He was a nine-time all-star, and he did pitch a perfect game, but he probably deserves more to be in the proverbial Hall of Very Good. He then represented Kentucky in the House for over a decade, and then the Senate for over a decade. However, even if you don’t consider his politics, he was considered a largely ineffective, unremarkable member of Congress. So, all in all, a mixed bag, but certainly notable.

During his tenure with the Phoenix Suns, Johnson won Most Improved Player, and from there made it to three All-Star Games. After retiring, he became mayor of his hometown, Sacramento, California. While in that role, he helped keep the Kings in the city. There were some scandals, controversies, and allegations along the way, though, that have checkered his political, and personal, legacy.

James was born in Alabama with the first name Forrest, so one does have to wonder if, like the character Forrest Gump, he was named for Confederate general Nathan Bedford Forrest. He played halfback at Auburn, where he was an All-American, and he then briefly played professionally in the CFL. James had two stints as governor of Alabama. The first time, he was a Democrat, but an old-school “Southern Democrat.” In his second go-round, which came 12 years later, he was a Republican. James wasn’t as racist as you might think, and actually helped integrate the Alabama government in his first tenure, but also thought evolution shouldn’t be taught in schools. Good college running back, though.

After a solid run as a receiver for Ohio State, Gonzalez was a first-round pick by the Indianapolis Colts. He had a couple of decent seasons early on, but retired after an unremarkable career. Gonzalez then became a congress member representing a district in Ohio. While a Republican, Gonzalez became a polarizing figure in the party because he voted to impeach Trump and had wild ideas like, “Maybe we should investigate what happened on January 6th.” Owing to population logistics, Gonzalez’s district was to be rendered obsolete in 2023, and so he decided not to retire from Congress.

Udall grew up in the Wild West, almost literally. He spent his childhood in rural Arizona in the 1920s and 1930s, and do recall Arizona only became a state in 1912. Udall was a star at the University of Arizona in the sport of basketball, and in the early days of it being a professional sport played for the Denver Nuggets in the NBL for the 1948-49 season. During that time, he also was studying law, and he would get his law degree soon thereafter. Udall took over Arizona’s second district from his brother Stuart, but he held onto that role for three decades. He was considered a liberal rabble rouser, and was one of the first active politicians to oppose the Vietnam War. In 1976 Udall ran for the Democratic nomination as a liberal alternative to Jimmy Carter (the center-left option). It didn’t work out, but he stuck it out in the House for another 15 years.

Walker was a good football player. He won the Heisman, and man was he impressive at Georgia. His professional career was fine. Walker has shown no real aptitude for anything else, be it politics or parenthood or not being a terrible husband. Inexplicably, Walker became the Republican nominee for the Senate for the state of Georgia in 2022. Fully incapable and largely incoherent, Walker did not win the election.

A cornerback, Turner was drafted out of Illinois in the seventh round. Many seventh-round picks never play in the NFL, but Turner played 101 games and had five career interceptions. He ran for the 50th district in California, down in San Diego County, but he did not win. Turner then returned to Texas and won the seat representing the 33rd district. He served from 2013 until 2017, and then in 2025 Donald Trump nominated him as the Secretary for HUD.

Judges aren’t wholly politicians, but they exist in the political space, and most of them operate politically. The role judges play is decidedly a political one. Page was a great defensive lineman, the rare defensive player to win MVP. He also won two Defensive Player of the Year awards. Page was a star for the Minnesota Vikings, and after his playing days continued to serve the state of Minnesota. He got a law degree and then served as a member of the Minnesota Supreme Court. Page joined the court in 1993 and served until 2015 when, get this, he reached the court-mandated retirement age. Imagine that.

Ford didn’t play football professionally, but who cares? One, he had offers, but this was the 1930s when playing in the NFL was far from enticing to many. Don’t forget that Jay Berwanger, the first winner of the Heisman and the inaugural first-overall pick in the NFL Draft, opted to work for a rubber company as opposed to signing with the Bears. Ford was a star at center and linebacker for the Michigan Wolverines. More to the point, he did serve as both vice president and president of the United States. Sure, he’s the only person to rise to the presidency without being elected as either vice president or president, but that’s still the highest office in the land, as they say.