Odds Favor Next Recipient of Presidential Medal of Freedom Being Attributed to Sports/Athletics
- Sportsbooks are offering +175 odds that the next recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom will be from the world of sports
- Six of the 11 recipients during the tenure of US President Donald Trump are from sports
- That list grows to seven if you count ex-NFL star Alan Page, who was honored for his work as a judge
When US President Donald Trump isn’t handing out the Presidential Medal of Freedom, it would appear that the President spends a lot of his free time watching sports.
He certainly seems to hold a fascination for athletes.
Since taking up residence in the the Oval Office, Trump has doled out the Presidential Medal of Freedom to 11 recipients. Six of those recipients were classified in the sports category.
One sportsbook is out with a prop wager. It asks to which field will the next to receive the Presidential Medal be attributed? Naturally, sports is the +175 chalk in this market.
Odds Which Field Next Recipient of Presidential Medal of Freedom Will Be Attributed To?
| Field | Odds |
|---|---|
| Sports/Athletics | +175 |
| Arts/Media | +225 |
| Business/Economics | +450 |
| Philanthropy/Philosophy | +450 |
| Politics/Government | +500 |
| Law/Humanitarian | +1000 |
| Military/Space | +2000 |
| Science/Medicine | +3300 |
| Education/History | +4000 |
| Religion/Technology | +4000 |
*Odds taken on 09/25/19. Must be bestowed by President Trump for wagers to have action. Wagers count towards the next recipient following Mariano Rivera. Any wagers placed the same day outcome is determined will be deemed void.
The most recent recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom was former New York Yankees Hall of Fame closer Mariano Rivera.
Testing Their Medal
Technically, Trump has actually presented seven of his 11 Preisdential Medals of Freedom to elite athletes. Alan Page was recognized for his 22 years as an associate justice serving on the Minnesota Surpreme Court.
Page was also a Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee for his work as a defensive tackle with the Minnesota Vikings and their famed Purple People Eaters defense. In 1971, Page was the first defensive player recognized as NFL MVP.
When it comes to sports, naturally Trump, a New Yorker, is fond of New York Yankees. His most recent recipient was Rivera. He also posthumously recognized the Bambino, Babe Ruth.
An avid golfer, Trump bestowed the nation’s highest civilian honor on Tiger Woods. Ex-Dallas Cowboys quarterback and Heisman Trophy Roger Staubach is another recognized by Trump.
Trump presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom to a pair of NBA legends. Oddly enough, they’re both white guys – Jerry West and Bob Cousy.
Trump Presidential Medal of Freedom Trends
Trump hasn’t presented a single Presidential Medal of Freedom to anyone in the fields of science/technology or education/history. His lone arts/media recipient was Elvis Presley.
Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipients From Donald Trump
| Recipient | Field | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Elvis Presley* | Arts/Media | 2016 |
| Miriam Adelson | Philanthropy/Philosophy | 2018 |
| Orrin Hatch | Politics/Government | 2018 |
| Alan Page | Law/Humanitarian | 2018 |
| Babe Ruth* | Sports/Athletics | 2018 |
| Antonin Scalia* | Law/Humanitarian | 2018 |
| Roger Staubach | Sports/Athletics | 2018 |
| Bob Cousy | Sports/Athletics | 2019 |
| Arthur Laffer | Business/Economics | 2019 |
| Mariano Rivera | Sports/Athletics | 2019 |
| Jerry West | Sports/Athletics | 2019 |
| Tiger Woods | Sports/Athletics | 2019 |
Presley, Ruth and ex-Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia were honored posthumously. There’s a 27.2 percent chance the next recipient could be a dead guy. Just one of 11 have been female. The odds of that happening next are a paltry 9.09 percent.
Trump is clearly partisan in his non-sports recipients. Scalia was a stauch conservative judge. Economist Arthur Laffer worked in the Reagan Administration. Orrin Hatch is a Republican Senator.
Miriam Adelson’s family gave the Trump inaugural committee US$5 million. It’s the largest single donation made to a US Presidential inaugration.
To summarize, the ideal candidate would be an ex-athlete with strong ties to the Republican Party.
Wonder if Tom Brady needs a medal to go with all those rings?
Pick: Sports/Athletics +175
An industry veteran, Bob literally taught the course on the history of sports at Elder College. He has worked as a Sports Columnist for Postmedia, appeared as a guest on several radio stations, was the Vice President of the Society For International Hockey Research in Ontario, and written 25 books.
