Jeff Smith on Bill Maher as a Mets Owner

Michael Jordan was one of the first people in pro sports to realize that politics and sports don’t mix.

When asked to endorse black Charlotte mayor Harvey Gantt in an epic 1990 Senate race against longtime civil rights opponent Jesse Helms – a nod that could’ve had a profound impact in Jordan’s home state – MJ famously declined. “Republicans buy shoes, too,” he is reported to have said.

As a Gantt supporter I was very disappointed in Jordan’s refusal to get involved, but it was probably smart business. And I suspect that the Mets may be about to learn as much.

(Cross-posted, with permission of the author, from Politico’s Arena)