CHICAGO — Former President Barack Obama made a surprise appearance at WNBA All-Star practice Friday at the Obama Presidential Center, walking in from a side door to greet the 22 All-Stars in a moment that left players awestruck.
Caitlin Clark, the Indiana Fever star, described meeting Obama as "a moment I'll probably remember for the rest of my life."
"He just complimented me for the way that I handle everything, obviously with everything that's been going on," Clark said. "He's somebody that has been in front of the media quite a bit and he reminded me, 'When I got famous in my 40s, I didn't have to do it in my 20s.'"
Obama addressed the players on the basketball court at the center, which opened last month — the first professional sports league to use the facility.
"Some of you I'm meeting for the first time. All of you are extraordinary and I could not be bigger fans," Obama said. "The way the game has been growing lately, the way it's been picking up and people paying attention to your excellence, I think it's been something for basketball fans, generally, a sight to see. It's been making me happy."
The former president spent time with several players individually, singling out A'ja Wilson in his remarks. He then stepped onto the court and got into a defensive stance against New York Liberty forward Jonquel Jones for a few seconds, drawing laughter from the players.
"I feel like as a hooper, you know when someone's challenging you. So I was just like, let me go over there with the basketball, do a little cross, bump him a little bit," Jones said. "And I knew that I would get him activated a little because he's a hooper, too."
Obama declined a 5-on-5 game, saying he needed to protect his Achilles, but noted he had already broken in the court with a game of "horse." He was presented with a No. 44 WNBA All-Star jersey, which the players planned to autograph later.
The WNBA All-Star Game is scheduled for Saturday at Wintrust Arena in Chicago.
Obama, the first sitting U.S. president to attend a WNBA game in 2010, said he would miss the All-Star Game due to a prior engagement with his wife, Michelle, for their 30th anniversary.
"It's fitting for our 30th anniversary that we're here as the first sports league to play in the Obama Presidential Center," WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said. "Someone who has inspired hundreds of millions of people to dream big and accomplish things like President Obama has and his tie to basketball is amazing, too. I think there's no more fitting person to be meeting with the players."
After the basketball court session, Obama crossed the center to speak with a group of league investors and nearly 100 high school girls.
Sources
- https://apnews.com/article/obama-wnba-all-stars-fe5ff9d58d8cf87816b3dfe48bfacc07
