Former Basketball Star Anthony Turns to Romney From Obama

Former basketball star Greg Anthony now stars in a television ad for Mitt Romney, explaining why he switched to the Republican after voting for President Barack Obama in 2008.

Anthony was point guard for the University of Nevada at Las Vegas’ NCAA title team of 1990. He also played for 10 years in the NBA.

Anthony is now a TV basketball commentator. He grew up in Nevada, and that key swing state is where the ad will run.

“There’s a really soft spot in my heart for Nevada, having been born and raised there,” Anthony says in the ad. “When you look at unemployment, it’s probably the highest in the country. It’s in double-digits right now.”

Indeed, Nevada’s 12.1 percent unemployment rate is the highest in the country.

“I voted for Barack Obama, thought he’d be a centrist,” Anthony says in the ad. “I really lost faith in him. I’m supporting Mitt Romney. He’s a no-excuses kind of guy, and I think over the last four years we’ve heard enough excuses.”

Real Clear Politics rates the race a toss-up in Nevada. In the last six polls it compiled, all taken last month, Obama has a 5.2 percentage point lead on average.