The hoop and change president is enshrining his love for basketball in his presidential library.
The Obama Presidential Center that will rise in Jackson Park in Chicago will feature an athletic complex with a full-size court that the ex-president describes in a new podcast. Its unorthodox inclusion in a presidential library complex will underscore how Obama’s love for the game was a key part of his image, his appeal to younger voters and a useful political tool.
“It will also be the first presidential center in which there will be multiple All Star games on there,” Obama said on the new “Ways to Win” podcast hosted by his brother-in-law Craig Robinson and University of Kentucky coach John Calipari.
But the youngest living former president won’t be lacing them up himself once his court is inaugurated. The shot clock runs down for everyone – even for ex-commanders in chief. Obama, 62, confessed on the podcast that he no longer plays the competitive games of pickup he used to blow off steam as president after seeing friends of a similar age popping their Achilles tendons.
“I have hung ‘em up,” Obama said. “I played all the way through the presidency,” before adding, “the last time I played was November of 2016, so just two months before I left office. Man, I played great that day. I was raining down threes, and had this spin move, finger roll for the win. I was just firing on all cylinders.”
Presidents and sports
Almost every recent president has enjoyed a round of golf, including Obama. Ex-President Donald Trump, who used to slam his predecessor for the time he spent on the links, was an obsessive player on his own courses while in office. And President Joe Biden, who has kept his love for the game somewhat quieter, is…
Read the full article here
