McConnell sent letters to the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, PGA and NASCAR. | AP Photos McConnell warns pro sports on ACA

Two top Senate Republicans have sternly warned the leaders of the NFL and other sports leagues against wading into the politically volatile waters of Obamacare.

“Given the divisiveness and persistent unpopularity of the health care [law], it is difficult to understand why an organization like yours would risk damaging its inclusive and apolitical brand by lending its name to its promotion,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Republican Whip John Cornyn wrote in letters to the commissioners of the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, PGA and the chairman and chief executive officer of NASCAR.


A spokesman for the NFL responded Friday evening to say the league has no plans at this time to work with HHS on health law.

“We have responded to the letters we received from members of Congress to inform them we currently have no plans to engage in this area and have had no substantive contact with the administration about PPACA’s implementation,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy told POLITICO.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius had told reporters earlier this week that she is in conversations with some sports leagues about potential partnerships to promote enrollment in the president’s health law this summer and fall.

Sebelius said at the time that she has had conversations with the NFL, whose representatives are “very actively and enthusiastically engaged because they see health promotion as one of the things that is good for them and good for the country.”

Sports partnerships with the Obama administration could come at a risk. The health law still has significant opposition. And some athletes may be skeptical about being cozy with the Obama administration’s signature law.

The Boston Red Sox successfully worked with Massachusetts to advertise its insurance coverage mandate — a move the Obama administration may want to repeat.

But McConnell and Cornyn point out key differences — the Massachusetts law was bipartisan and much more popular than the 2010 federal health law.

They list several of the federal law’s flaws and suggest that it would be unusual for a major sports league to take “public sides in such a highly polarized public debate.”

“Yet given the administration’s public request of your assistance in promoting this unpopular law, we felt it important to provide you with a fuller accounting of the facts before you made the decision,” they wrote.

McConnell and Cornyn also urged the sports leaders to resist any potential “threat of policy retaliation to solicit support” by the administration.