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Shane Battier is one of the smartest players the NBA has seen and was allegedly in the running for a US Senate seat almost a decade ago. Battier has raised championship banners at the collegiate, NBA, and international levels and has been a discerning investor since his retirement.
Battier was born in Birmingham, Michigan, and attended Detroit Country Day School in high school. He went through a rough patch with his hometown fans after committing to Duke instead of Michigan-based colleges, but he made up for it with his foundation and philanthropy years later. He never played for the Pistons but had developed a strong fanbase in Detroit.
ESPN's Zach Lowe published a report in Grantland in 2014 stating that Shane Battier claimed the Michigan Democratic Party contacted him to see if he would consider running for a US Senate seat. The offer was to replace longtime U.S. Senator Carl Levin.
Carl Levin was a US Senator from Michigan for 36 years, from 1979 to 2015, and the Chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee for eight years. He announced his retirement in 2013, and multiple sources claimed Battier was mentioned as a potential candidate.
Evidently, the two-time NBA champion declined and did not run for office.
Certain members of the Michigan Democratic Party denied any offer was made to Shane Battier
Although Shane Battier rejecting an offer to run for office was news at the time, many members of the Democratic Party believe no such offer was made in the first place. As per Josh Pugh, Communications Director for the Michigan Democratic Party, the committee was focused on Congressman Gary Peters, and Battier was not a potential candidate to replace Senator Carl Levin. He said, in 2014:
"Like many fans of basketball and politics, we at the Michigan Democratic Party were surprised to hear Shane Battier mentioned for the first time this afternoon as a possible candidate for U.S. Senate."
"Michigan Democrats are united behind a great candidate in Congressman Gary Peters, and we wish Battier the best in his impending retirement from professional basketball."
However, there is a lot of debate around this topic, as many believe such an offer was possible, albeit unlikely. As reported by the Huffington Post, a Democratic official in Michigan said he "can't categorically rule it out," even if the idea seemed far-fetched.
The official said candidate recruitment on the condition of anonymity is possible.
"There are so many people attached to [the Michigan Democratic Party] and DNC officials who could conceivably have claimed to be reaching out on behalf of the Democratic Party."
Battier retired from professional basketball after the 2014 NBA Finals. He contributed to LeBron James' "Heatles" dynasty in South Beach and won two championships with the Miami Heat in 2012 and 2013.
