Sports Legends Blitz Capitol Hill
No, Charlie Hustle won’t be setting up a folding card table and hawking signatures for cash. But anyone who lives and dies by ESPN should be on the lookout Tuesday night and Wednesday while the Sports & Fitness Industry Association sprints through town.
As part of their push for sports-friendly tax breaks and enhanced physical education programs in schools, SFIA is sending top-tier athletes to blanket the Capitol.
Their team captain is Heisman Trophy winner and “Celebrity Apprentice” alum Herschel Walker, who’ll be joined by a squad of fellow super-humans at an invite-only reception Tuesday evening at the Capitol Visitor Center honoring Reps. Jack Kingston, R-Ga., and Linda T. Sánchez, D-Calif.
Other exemplars of the kinesiological arts expected to be in attendance include: Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens Torrey Smith and Bernard Pierce (football), Mia Hamm (soccer), Olympic gold medalist Jenny Simpson (track), 2000 National League MVP Jeff Kent (baseball), Lorena Ochoa (golf), Olympic silver medalist April Ross (beach volleyball), heavyweight champ Deontay Wilder (boxing), Paul Rabil (lacrosse) and repeat Olympic medalist Heather Petri (water polo), among others.
An SFIA aide said the group plans to fan out across the Hill on Wednesday, taking meetings (at least 130) with political players ranging from current GOP golden boy Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida to Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga.