Nick Saban, Bob Huggins, Jerry West endorse Democrat Joe Manchin

Alabama coach Nick Saban, by his own admission, said he rarely comments on politics. When asked about NFL players kneeling for the national anthem last year, Saban said that he was just a football coach and didn’t keep up with much during football season.

But now, in the middle of football season, he is talking about politics, appearing in an ad with Bob Huggins and Jerry West to endorse West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin for re-election.

Manchin, a Democrat, is running against Republican state Attorney General Patrick Morrisey this fall. The incumbent is in a toss-up district and has been facing a tough re-election although he currently has a narrow lead in the polls.

His opponent’s campaign recently announced that Vice President Mike Pence and the president’s son Donald Trump Jr. would stump in the state ahead of the election and Manchin decided to call in his state’s iconic sports stars.

In the video, Saban, a Fairmont native, said that he grew up with Manchin and that the senator never forgets where he came from.

He also said he didn’t have a better friend or know a better person than Manchin.

Huggins, the basketball coach at West Virginia University, agreed.

“I swear that there is no one that loves the people of West Virginia than (Joe) Manchin.” Huggins said.

West, a former NBA champion with the Lakers and a college star at West Virginia, was the final legend to praise Manchin in the ad. In front of black and white photo shoot of himself playing basketball, West said that Manchin was someone who would work with both Republicans and Democrats to get things done.

Manchin, a controversial senator who often sides with President Donald Trump and Republican causes, has been scrutinized recently for voting to confirm Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

Kavanaugh had been accused of sexual misconduct dating back to his high school days. Although his accuser Dr. Christine Blasey Ford testified in front of Congress, he was narrowly confirmed. Manchin was one of two senators, along with Republican Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, to defect from party lines.

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