The 2016 presidential election isn’t the only race that’s heating up.
Since he handed the reigns to Adam Silver nearly 18 months ago, former NBA Commissioner David Stern has been relatively quiet. But all that might change very soon. According to a report from Richard Johnson of the New York Post, people close to Stern are apparently urging him to join the New York City mayoral race in 2017.
Stern, a lifelong Democrat who has regularly contributed to the party, will be retired for two years in February.
“He’s pretty bored,” said one source. “He’s always been interested in politics, and he’s always been interested in running for office.”
Stern is an associate at the Council on Foreign Relations. Of $311,400 Stern has given to Democrats, $5,000 went to President Obama in 2012, and $30,800, the legal max, went to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in 2011. Not a cent went to Republicans.
Stern’s business acumen and legal background certainly both speak for themselves. His stewardship of the NBA — particularly the massive cable contracts he’s helped broker across the globe — turned it into the fastest growing of the four North American major professional sports, both at home and abroad. And his handling of two major work stoppages and their subsequent resolutions prove he’s no stranger to politicking.
On the cultural front, Stern has been as progressive as any of his contemporaries, whether that entailed facilitating black ownership in the NBA (still something that needs to improve), appointing minorities to high profile positions around the league offices, or consistently supporting equal rights for the LGBTQ community.
Still, it doesn’t appear Stern himself has much interest in such a venture, according to Johnson’s report.
“I remain a happy Westchester resident and am very busy as a senior adviser to a number of enterprises.”
It’s a shame, really, because he’d clearly be a better candidate for office than, say, a certain other native New Yorker who is currently making a complete mockery of the political process.
