Bradley Being Challenged Under His Own Hoop

Bill Bradley is living proof that white men can jump: from professional basketball to the U.S. Senate, to the presidential campaign trail and back to basketball in order to raise money for politics.

But on the eve of Bradley’s Madison Square Garden hoops fund-raiser, it is Texas Gov. George W. Bush who is winning the athletic money game.

The former owner of the Texas Rangers baseball team (and Republican front-runner) has raised nearly twice as much from sports donors as the former New York Knicks forward and Democratic challenger, according to an analysis by the Virginia-based Campaign Study Group.

Even more in your face, Bush has raised a healthy $15,000 in Bradley’s own bailiwick--from former basketball players--compared with the $25,000 or so raised by the Princeton All-American.

In fact, Bush’s donor list reads like a Who’s Who of all things locker room, or actually all things owner’s box. Names of the rich and famous from sweat-inducing pursuits have donated $133,648 to Bush’s run for the White House.

“When you look at just the numbers, it’s inconsequential,” said Dwight Morris, president of Campaign Study Group, a media consulting firm. “But the key is that everyone is making this big thing, rightly, about Bradley using his basketball connections to raise money. . . . What he’s using is the leverage these people can bring him. I don’t know if Bush is or not.”

Campaign spokesman Scott McClellan said Bush is “pleased to have broad-based support all across America, including from athletes and sports personalities.” The Bradley campaign could not be reached for comment.

Bush’s donations from athletes are minor compared with the $57 million he had raised as of Sept. 30. But they offer an interesting window into athletics and politics.

Peter O’Malley, former owner of the Dodgers, gave $1,000 to Bush, the maximum amount allowable. Roger Staubach, former quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys, gave $875. Employees at the Staubach Co. and current and former Cowboy players have given nearly $27,000.

As Morris put it, “Bill Bradley has labor; George Bush has management,” along with the golf set.

“Golfers as a group are notoriously conservative,” said John Feinstein, author of “A Good Walk Spoiled: Days and Nights on the PGA Tour.”