On Tuesday, Jimmy Haslam officially became the new owner of the Browns. On Wednesday, Haslam dipped his toe into a potential political morass by inviting Republican Vice Presidential candidate Paul Ryan to practice.
According to multiple media reports, Ryan and former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (a big Browns fan) are present for the first official day of Browns practice in the Haslam regime.
Haslam has every right to invite whoever he wants to practice, but there may be some Browns fans who also are Democrats who are put off by the overlap between partisan politics and football. Indeed, plenty of Republicans who are Browns fans would chafe at the presence of Barack Obama or Joe Biden or other prominent Democrats at practice.
The issue takes on a higher profile given that, by all appearances, Ohio is the only state in which voting will be conducted next month.
It remains to be seen whether Ryan challenged any of the Browns players to a footrace.