As endorsements for lifetime appointments go, this could be even more significant than Tom Brady stumping for Jason Taylor to get to the Hall of Fame.
Via Peter Marcus of the Colorado Springs Gazette, Broncos executive John Elway sent a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee, endorsing conservative Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch.
Elway described the Colorado native as having “tremendous intelligence, character and fairness,” while pointing out that he’s a big Broncos fan — which is obviously important for people whose job is to interpret the Constitution.
Though the letterhead has a huge Broncos logo across the top, the team was careful to point out that it was Elway’s personal letterhead and that the endorsement was independent of the team.
Of course, that’s largely a moot point, for a few reasons. First and foremost, John Elway is the Broncos and the Broncos are John Elway. He’s the best player in franchise history and runs the place, so trying to draw a line between him and their functions seems irrelevant.
And he’s long been involved in Republican politics, as have other team officials (including team president Joe Ellis who is nephew of former President George H.W. Bush and thus the cousin of President George W. Bush).
So while the team might feel uncomfortable with a blatant political endorsement, it’s also a fairly obvious stance that he’d take. Being the boss apparently allows you to take such public positions without being labeled a distraction.