NBA MVP Steve Nash opens up about being a soccer owner, broadcaster
He sat down with Sports Illustrated’s Grant Wahl to discuss his new roles.
On whether it’s fair to say that even though Nash is a two-time NBA MVP, he is more passionate about soccer than basketball at this point in his life:
“Yeah, I don’t know if that’s any secret (laughs). I do consult for the Warriors. I’m involved with the Canadian national team program. So I do have my ties with basketball, and I still love the game. I’m part of the ownership group of the Vancouver Whitecaps and Real Mallorca in Spain, and now obviously working with the B/R Football team. Soccer is just a huge part of my life, a huge and genuine part of my everyday. Whether I would be doing this for a living or not, I’m watching a ton of soccer and am just obsessive about the game.”
On his new job with Turner Broadcasting at Bleacher Report:
“It’s a dream come true. Obviously, when you play basketball for a living you don’t expect to get the opportunity to be involved in soccer telecasts and broadcasting. But I got a call from David Finocchio, who created Bleacher Report, which is a part of the Turner family. And their UEFA coverage will be branded Bleacher Report Football. So he gave me a call, and he said he had some new ideas and plans on the way he wanted to cover soccer for Bleacher Report. And one of those things was to try to reach a larger new audience. And I think that was the genesis of my involvement. And what was exciting to me also is the type of content they want to capture: In-depth personalities and insight into some of these guys that are world-class athletes and household names in much of the rest of the world but probably are under-known by the general population in the U.S.”