Sports stars line up behind Putin, though some disagree
MOSCOW — Most, but not all, of Russia’s top sports stars are backing Vladimir Putin in this weekend’s presidential election.
Ahead of Sunday’s vote, a host of Olympic gold medallists and NHL player Alex Ovechkin have thrown their support behind Putin. Ovechkin even launched a “Putin Team” campaign on social media.
On the other side, there’s Yevgeny Kafelnikov.
The former No. 1-ranked tennis player is the only major Russian athlete to back opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who has been barred from taking part in the election.