In an appearance on Thursday’s “Mike & Mike” ESPN Radio program, former President Bill Clinton was asked by co-host Mike Greenberg who he thought would make the best president out of the sports figures he had met over the years.
Among those he included were Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant, former NBA great Michael Jordan, golf legend Jack Nicklaus and current Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll.
“Well, [Kobe Bryant] would be good,” Clinton said. “He is very smart and he’s an instinctive leader. [Michael] Jordan was a good leader — you know, really smart. I thought a lot of the golfers I’ve talked with and played with over the years were impressive and good. Jack Nicklaus I think and Greg Norman, who is not an American, but they were great organizers. You know, they built the big business empire. They built the golf courses. And a lot of coaches I have known would be good presidents.”
On Carroll, Clinton pointed to his success last week in his game versus the Green Bay Packers, but apparently was not aware of allegations Carroll dabbled in 9/11 trutherism, nor did he acknowledge the improprieties that occurred at the University of Southern California while he was the head football coach.
“What did Pete Carroll do in the last quarter of the last games to turn that thing around — I mean, you know, there are a lot of people in politics or sports that would do quite well in public offices, not because they are just inspirational and because they lead by example but because they are highly intelligent,” he added. “You know? They have to think through these things and make instantaneous decisions among several alternatives all the time.”
Follow Jeff Poor on Twitter @jeff_poor
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