Alexi Lalas, former USMNT great and the current face of Fox Sports’ soccer coverage, has not been shy about diving into political commentary in recent years. His social feeds are chock-full of personal opinions about current events that generally skew rightward on the political spectrum.
That might come as a surprise for those that aren’t following him on social media. In his playing days, Lalas’ shoulder-length red hair and goatee presented as free-spirited, more likely to associate with the attendees of a jam band festival than those attending the Republican National Convention. But the longtime studio analyst, who is preparing to work his fifth consecutive men’s World Cup for the primary English-language broadcaster in the United States next summer, might be open to branching out from the beautiful game if the right opportunity presents itself.
Appearing on The Varsity podcast with Puck’s John Ourand, Lalas confirmed his interest in being the latest sports media personality to crossover into politics.
“Spin this forward, do you see a Clay Travis-type role for you in the next couple of years, or are you a soccer guy through and through now?” Ourand posed.
“Oh, no. I’d love to do anything. If people are going to pay me to talk about stuff, that’s awesome. It’s actually, you mention Clay, and certainly others out there that are, ‘expanding their brand,’ I don’t know what phrase you want to use, and ultimately we are pundits, we are entertainers, you know, I am in the entertainment business. And sometimes when you say that I think people sometimes cringe, but it’s absolutely the case,” Lalas began.
“And, by the way, even when I was playing I was in the entertainment business. I recognized that, you know, you practice, which is rehearsing. You go on a stage, which is basically a field. You go in front of an audience, which is the crowd. You put on a uniform, which is a costume. And so I’ve always been a performer. But it doesn’t mean, in this capacity now when I’m performing in front of a camera, it doesn’t mean that what I say I don’t believe in and is not the truth.
“But I recognize that it’s a combination of what you say and how you say it that makes you successful. And whether that’s talking about politics, whether that’s talking about soccer, whether that’s talking about culture, whether that’s talking about anything, I would use the same template in that, you do your homework, you prepare, and then you rely on the lessons that you’ve learned over life. And I’ve been doing this now for awhile, and so, yeah, to have some of the success that others have, and whether it’s a Clay out there, or a Stephen A. [Smith], and all these guys that are getting involved, I like that they’re dipping their toes in. And, by the way, it’s really interesting to see some of the reaction of people as they come and play in their sandlot, and the indignant type of response, ‘Ahh, it’s just a sports person…'”
“Stick to sports Alexi, come on,” Ourand quipped.
“Yeah, stay in your lane and do all that kind of stuff. You know what, I’m on a freeway and I’m going to change lanes as many times as I possibly can and I’m going to drive fast. That’s how I roll,” Lalas concluded.
The Fox Sports analyst certainly has the punditry chops to apply his skill set to subjects outside of soccer. And he’d be far from the only one doing it. As he mentioned, Stephen A. Smith and Clay Travis have successfully blended sports with political commentary. So have figures like Jemele Hill, Pablo Torre, and Will Cain. There’s a lot of overlap between what it takes to be a successful sports commentator and what it takes to have success talking politics.
Lalas clearly has the passion for both. So it’d be no surprise to see him follow in the footsteps of other sports media stars in crossing over to political commentary if the opportunity arises.