College football analyst Craig James announced he plans to leave the broadcasting booth to run for a seat in the U.S. Senate representing Texas, according to Sports Illustrated via a Tweet from the Dallas Morning News.
"Former SMU standout and ESPN personality Craig James will file in Texas for the Republican U.S. Senate primary by end of day Thursday," DMN political reporter Gromer Jeffers tweeted.
You may remember James from when he was a part of the Pony Express at Southern Methodist University, or when he was a New England Patriot, or when his family took down Texas Tech coach Mike Leach.
In the latter incident, his family lodged a complaint about the way Leach treated James' son Adam after Adam suffered a concussion in 2009.
Adam James, a sophomore receiver for Texas Tech, had said that while unable to practice due to a concussion, Leach twice forced him to stand in a small, dark place for hours while the team practiced. Pirate-obsessed Leach was forced to walk the plank just days before the Red Raiders played in the 2009 Alamo Bowl.
The decision by 50-year-old Craig James, a Texas native, to run for U.S. office comes after he said in January he might be interested in moving from broadcasting to politics.
This summer, James launched Texans for a Better America, a group that according to its promotional video is devoted to restoring the ideals of America's founding fathers. The nearly three-minute video ends with: "Join Craig James, support the fight."
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If James does run in the March 6 Republican primary, he'll be up against former Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, and the former Solicitor General of Texas Ted Cruz, among others.
