Sports figures favor Republicans

Or so it seems (original source here):

  • “Professional athletes and executives have given $445,334 to the
    two nominees – 55.8 percent to McCain and 44.2 percent to Obama,
    according to ESPN analysis of figures from the Center for Responsive
    Politics, a nonpartisan research group.”
  • “The difference this election is that pro sports donors are more
    divided. In the past two presidential elections, the Democratic nominee
    has struggled to muster at most 16 percent of pro sports donations.”…
  • “McCain has lots of friends in the dugout, but his biggest fans are
    in football. Six of McCain’s top 10 pro sports donors are with NFL
    teams, led by the San Diego Chargers, Dallas Cowboys and Houston
    Texans.”
  • “NBA staff topped Obama’s list of pro sports donors at $24,360.”

I can think of a few hypotheses to explain these results:

1. Sports figures don’t want high marginal tax rates for the upper income brackets.

2. Currently the disproportionate representation of African-Americans in sports is throwing more support to Obama than a Democratic candidate normally would receive.

3. Perhaps athletes are less likely to come from coastal elites, who are becoming increasingly Democratic.

4. Republicans have historically shown less interest in regulating professional sports than have Democrats.

5. The sport of football most embodies the ethic of martial virtue and so football players and executives are especially drawn to McCain.

Is there more?

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