Alessandro De Pol, Italian Hoopster and Sportscaster, Announced as Newest EcoAthletes Champion
Alessandro De Pol is used to going against the grain.
While soccer is the most popular — as well as the second and third most popular — sport in his native Italy, the Trieste native pursued pro basketball. He played for six Italian clubs as well as for the national team over a 20-year career that ended in 2009.
De Pol also is taking the road less traveled, for now, by becoming the first Italian pro athlete to become an EcoAthletes Champion. While his interest in climate change is relatively recent — he became passionate about it after seeing “An Inconvenient Truth” and other climate-themed movies — his primary goal is to engage current and former athletes about the urgency of the climate crisis and the benefits of real climate action.
“At first, I only spoke about climate change with friends and family,” shared the 6’ 6” former forward. “Recently, I spoke to some Italian basketball players about it. To tell you the truth, they weren't very interested at first. But some of them decided after our conversations to change some behaviors, especially their eating habits.”
De Pol has ample opportunity to speak with Italian pro hoops stars about climate change and many other subjects. That is thanks to his longtime role as a color analyst on RAI Sports broadcasts of Serie A, the country’s top pro basketball league and one of the best circuits in Europe.
Alessandro prepares to take a free throw for the Italian National Team (Photo credit: FIP)
Becoming the newest EcoAthletes Champion will help De Pol in his efforts to help other Italian basketballers become All-Star comunicatori climatici.
“I am excited to become an EcoAthletes Champion because I think that a lot can be done to raise awareness and interest among basketball players and other athletes in Italy,” enthused De Pol. “I believe that athletes can make changes that are good for the climate themselves. Once they do that, they can influence their fans to do the same. And they can see it may not be difficult as they believe!”
EcoAthletes founder Lew Blaustein is thrilled to have the player-turned-sportscaster on the Champions squad.
“Alessandro brings great passion for spreading the word about the need for urgent action to other basketball players,” said Blaustein. “As a respected broadcaster in Italy, and with deep, global connections throughout the basketball world, he is well-positioned to connect EcoAthletes with ‘climate curious’ players in one of the world’s most popular sports.”
Follow Alessandro De Pol on Twitter