Charania: Obama Advised NBA Players to Demand Action, then Resume Play

LeBron James, Chris Paul, and other NBA players went to former United States President Barack Obama for advice during the recently-completed stoppage of play in the 2020 NBA Playoffs. After a meeting between players in Orlando on Wednesday night, James and a small group of participants brought Obama into a conference call, asking for his thoughts.

Charania relays the presidential advice:

Former President Barack Obama spoke to James, National Basketball Players Association president Chris Paul and a small group of players late Wednesday evening, advising them to play and utilize the opportunity to contextualize action they want in order to play, The Athletic has learned.

That contextualization led to a joint statement from the NBA and its players’ union, indicating that games would resume this weekend with the league moving on several action points, including forming a social justice coalition and converting team-owned arenas into polling places in the 2020 general election.