Vice President Joe Biden will attend a fundraiser headlined by a retired athlete with a history of misogyny and defense of dog fighting.
Former Pro Bowl running back Clinton Portis will serve as the guest of honor at a Biden fundraiser, according to the Washington Post, despite his history of offensive comments about women.
Portis ran into trouble in 2010 when he commented on a sexual harassment case involving the New York Jets:
"You put a woman (in a locker room) and you give her a choice of 53 athletes, somebody got to be appealing to her. ... You know, somebody got to spark her interest or she's gonna want somebody. I don't know what kind of woman won't, if you get to go and look at 53 men's packages," he said.
The former Washington Redskin was forced to apologize after a flurry of criticism from women’s groups and the NFL. The fundraiser comes as the Obama campaign attempts to capitalize on the female vote.
Portis is not the only Obama ally to come under fire for associating with anti-female athletes. The Washington Free Beacon uncovered that campaign staffer Lis Smith follows a number of prominent misogynists on Twitter.
Portis’ offensive comments are not limited to women. He drew the ire of animal rights groups and environmentalists when he defended ex-con QB Michael Vick’s arrest on dog fighting charges, saying the tortured animals were the quarterback’s "property."