Steve Nash was born in Johannesburg, South Africa and grew up in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada and Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.
Nash doesn't seem to want to speak of religion. Though he isn't a celebrity we can just write-off as non-religious or apathetic to spiritual matters. Nash holds two degrees in philosophy and religion.[1] So we can assume that he has a genuine interest in these matters. Perhaps it's all intellectual, or maybe Nash learned that expressing one's spiritual beliefs doesn't serve any purpose. Whatever the case, he's not talking about it.
The question & answer sites speculate widely, claiming Nash is a Mormon[2] here and Catholic[3] there. A MySpace page claiming to be the "official" Steve Nash page lists him as Catholic.[4]
If any of you readers have definitive evidence, let us know.
Politics from the key
Nash is a Canadian citizen, living and working in the U.S. Most of his political activity is oriented toward issues in the U.S. and most of them have a liberal bent.
He was an early opponent of America's war in Iraq. During an MVP All-Star game in 2003, Nash took advantage of the media circus to present his views:
I believe that us going to war would be a mistake. Being a humanitarian, I think that war is wrong in 99.9 percent of all cases. I think it has much more to do with oil or some sort of distraction, because I don't feel as though we should be worrying about Iraq.[5]
In 2010, Nash spoke out against Arizona's controversial immigration law, SB 1070, which allowed Arizona law enforcement officers to stop people at-will and ask for their legal documents. Nash said:
The result of passing this law is that our basic principles of equal rights and protection under the law are being called into question…[6]
Finally, Nash has stated his support for marriage equality and the legalization of gay marriage. He made a video to express his views, where he said:
A growing number of professional athletes are speaking out in support of gay and lesbian couples getting married. I'm proud to one of them.[7]
Nash is a giant Obama supporter, even penning a long, heartfelt essay about what Obama means to him for Britain's "The Guardian."[8] And after the instantly-infamous Newtown shootings,[9] when the U.S. erupted in gun control rhetoric, Nash was retweeting pro-gun control tweets.[10]
Nash is possibly the most political active basketball player in the NBA, and a powerful spokesperson for liberal ideology. I wouldn't be surprised if Nash looked into a political career after retirement from basketball.
Loading comments...