NBA champion-turned-actor and businessman, Rick Fox, has announced his next major endeavor: politics. Fox is running for a seat in the legislature of the Bahamas, where he has long-standing ties. The former basketball star seeks to help lead the Bahamas to a future of greater prosperity.
Fox declared entry into politics in the Bahamas
In a lengthy social media post, Fox announced that he was declaring his candidacy for the next legislative elections in the Bahamas. In declaring his candidacy, Fox said that he had a vision for the country that included “more transparency, a modern economy that prioritizes affordability and security, and a country where opportunity is our reality, not just a promise.” Fox explained that “as a candidate and as a leader for the Bahamas I will demand transparency, honesty, integrity while demanding a level of excellence from all of us.” Quoting the Bible, Fox said, “Scripture teaches: ‘Honor your father and mother, so that your days may be long upon this earth.’” He went on to say, “We should also honor the fathers and mothers of our nation. Their legacy brought us to this moment. Our responsibility now is to move The Bahamas forward. “
Athlete, actor and entrepreneur
Fox’s move into politics is his latest career pivot. Fox played for the University of North Carolina before spending 13 seasons in the NBA with the Boston Celtics and then the Los Angeles Lakers, where he won three NBA championships in the early 2000s. After retiring from basketball in 2004, Fox focused more on his already budding acting career, appearing in dozens of movies and television shows, including playing a fictionalized version of himself in The Game. Fox recently appeared in the Spike Lee movie Highest 2 Lowest alongside Denzel Washington. Fox has also been an entrepreneur, including a stint as owner of the e-sports team Echo Fox, and he worked to raise relief aid for the Bahamas after the country was hit hard by Hurricane Dorian in 2019.
Fox can draw upon his deep ties to the Bahamas
Though largely known as a basketball star and actor in the United States, Fox has extensive ties to the Bahamas. He was born in Canada to a Canadian mother and a Bahamian father and partially grew up in the Bahamas. Fox maintains a home in the Bahamas in addition to his residence in California, and in 2022, he was appointed to be the country’s ambassador for sports. As a candidate for the Bahamian legislature, Fox will run in one of the country’s 39 constituencies, though he did not announce which one he will seek to represent. The country’s Prime Minister, Philip Davis, has not yet announced the date of the next general election, which must occur within five years of the country’s most recent election in 2021. Despite his lack of political experience being a potential issue, Fox’s celebrity status and long-time presence in the Bahamas will likely help him as he seeks to win over voters.
If he wins, Fox will enter a new phase of a long career that has seen him move across the worlds of sports, entertainment, business, and possibly now politics. While these endeavors have made Fox famous in the United States and in the Bahamas, he now needs to show citizens of that country that he can represent them in a new way as an elected official.