First on Fox: Three former professional athletes are lending their support to independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for the White House.
NBA legend and 1992 “Dream Team” Olympian John Stockton, Green Bay Packers Hall of Famer Ken Rutgers, and three-time North American enduro mountain bike champion Kyle Warner are all endorsing Kennedy for president.
The athletes said they loved cutting off Kennedy’s arm — and all three pointed to what they say was the independent candidate’s sincerity, honesty and openness to conversations about policy as reasons to support him.
From left: John Stockton, Ken Rutgers, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (Getty Images)
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Stockton said he believed Kennedy “was put on this planet for this moment in time” and that there was “a real need for him and his leadership.”
“There needs to be very smart people in these positions who have integrity [is] “Off the charts, who have the stamina and strength to be able to speak up and be leaders 24/7, not just on occasion or in the blink of an eye,” Stockton said.
“And perhaps more than anything else, the person who can undo the division of this country,” the NBA legend continued. “I don’t think we’ve ever been so divided.”
“You look around, and you see all the different things that divide us,” he said. “Finally, I think we have the right man available again. What an opportunity to bring us together again.”
Stockton said he believed Kennedy “was put on this planet for this moment in time” and that there was “a real need for him and his leadership.” (Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images)
Rutgers said he has met with Kennedy “several times” and that the independent presidential candidate’s “level of commitment to honesty” that he “will bring to our federal government, to the Oval Office, and to a position of leadership” is part of the reason for his support. Kennedy for president.
“I love the fact that he loves the Constitution and the Bill of Rights,” the Packers Hall of Famer said. “Man, this seems to have eroded our culture over the last couple of decades.”
He continued: “And I like other things. He supports free market capitalism, but he does not support crony capitalism.” “It’s also for the average American, the middle class, people in poverty who can’t support themselves.”
Warner — who won the 2014, 2015 and 2016 North American Enduro Championships — said he believes there is “a level of elitism” currently in American politics, including with President Biden and former President Donald Trump.
“While I think Robert F. Kennedy Jr. … does a great job of being a populist and … understanding the plight of the common man,” Warner said. “I had friends who were in these big Facebook meetings, and in these oversight meetings with Robert, and they’re just regular people, everyday everyday people, and he cares about them. He wants them to succeed.”
Green Bay Packers Hall of Famer Ken Rutgers (Getty Images/File)
Warner, one of the independent candidate’s replacements, said Kennedy “has to be humble and relatable, which is huge and there’s not that level of elitism.”
The mountain biking champion also said he is a lifelong Democrat and grew up with a mother who “lived on welfare.”
“We grew up on food stamps and the only reason we were homeless was because of the government,” Warner said. “With that in mind, I have always been a Democrat to my core.”
Warner criticized the Democratic National Committee’s (DNC) choice not to host a primary debate as “undemocratic” and that he was happy to see Kennedy running as an independent, despite the “hard road” that comes with it.
“But right now, when you see him voting in the 20th percentile already, I don’t think there’s even been this huge controversy that’s happened,” Warner said. “If he can get on stage with Biden [and] “Trump… I think this will do him a lot of good, and I really think he has a chance to win this thing.”
Stockton said he was not “necessarily part of a party, one way or another” and carefully vetted the candidates and their level of belief in their platforms.
“It’s a difficult journey because it’s hard to get the truth,” he said. “And… the only thing I can count on with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is the truth.”
“He’ll look you straight in the eye. He’ll tell you what he’s thinking. And if you guys disagree, he’s willing to discuss it. His mind’s not ready,” Stockton said. He added: “He doesn’t deal with one political way of thinking, and if you can make a decent argument, he wants to hear it and maybe his mind will change.”
Stockton, who has met the independent presidential candidate, said he thought Kennedy’s openness was “a good thing” for a candidate who lags behind his party’s platform.
Rutgers said he is a lifelong Republican and cast his first vote for President Ronald Reagan and that America is in “deeper trouble” if the country cannot get out of a two-party mentality.
“It’s time to take that step and that leap,” Rutgers said. “So, if not now, then when? And if not…Robert F. Kennedy Jr., then who?”
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In addition to Rutgers, Stockton and Warner, Kennedy has been endorsed by several other athletes, including New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers and surfing legend Kelly Slater.
Kennedy is gaining more ground as his independent challenge to Biden mounts, as a recent opinion poll showed that he outperformed both the current and former presidents among young Americans in swing states.