Dawn Staley, Eagles’ Thomas Booker among sports figures endorsing Kamala Harris for president

The era of sports and politics staying separate from each other is fading further into the past.

Democratic presidential candidate and current Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign announced Saturday that it has formed an “Athletes for Harris” group headlined by 10 notable American sports figures, including two with Philadelphia ties: women’s basketball legend Dawn Staley and Eagles defensive tackle Thomas Booker.

Staley has long been outspoken on matters beyond the basketball court and has known Harris for a while. Harris visited one of Staley’s practices with the South Carolina’s women’s basketball team in January, and Staley attended the final night of last month’s Democratic National Convention when Harris gave her acceptance speech.

Booker is in his first year on the Eagles’ 53-man roster after being on the practice squad last season. He has been a public advocate against gun violence and in June was invited to the White House for an event on the subject.

“Seeing people step out of their specific professional frame and do things they care about to help people, I think, lets everybody else know, ‘Why would I not stand on my principles if this person feels the same way?’” Booker told The Inquirer earlier this month. “I do think at the end of the day, setting the example’s extremely important and extremely potent in today’s society.”

» READ MORE: Who is leading the presidential polls in Pennsylvania?

Also among the co-chairs are basketball’s Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Steve Kerr (who spoke at the Democratic National Convention last month), Chris Paul, Candace Parker, and former 76ers head coach Doc Rivers; soccer’s Ali Krieger, a Penn State alumna; tennis’ Billie Jean King; and Paralympic swimmer Ali Truwit.

“I have known Vice President Harris for over 25 years, and you can count on her to deliver on what she says she is going to do,” Johnson said as part of a statement in the campaign’s announcement. “For all of the athletes out there, don’t be afraid to use your platforms — we need all of you to get involved.”

Krieger was at the White House this past Monday when President Biden honored Gotham FC for winning last year’s NWSL championship. It marked the first time a professional women’s soccer team got the honor so often given to sports title-winners. Krieger played for Gotham last year, her final season of a career that included 2015 and 2019 World Cup titles.

Coincidentally, Staley’s Gamecocks also visited earlier this month, to honor the title they won last season.

» READ MORE: Why last season might have been the best coaching job of Dawn Staley's career

The Harris campaign’s announcement said the sports group “will be focused on recruiting fellow athletes to help the campaign through travel, fundraising, and using their social platforms to raise the stakes of this election.”

The campaign has already bought plenty of ads on TV sports broadcasts and has more lined up, starting with Saturday’s college football and Major League Baseball games.

The day’s big college football games include two in prime time on network TV: Illinois at Penn State (7:30 p.m., NBC10) and Alabama at Georgia (7:30 p.m., 6abc). The afternoon slate is headlined by Minnesota at Michigan (noon, Fox29), a game Harris’ vice presidential candidate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, is set to attend; and Wisconsin at Southern California (3:30 p.m., CBS3).

The baseball slate includes a prime time national window on Fox split between the New York Mets at Milwaukee (the game Fox29 will show here), a matchup of potential Phillies playoff opponents, and Baltimore at Minnesota.

Coincidentally, all those teams span some big electoral states — Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin — and the big New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago TV markets.