San Francisco (Obama.net)- On President Barack Obama’s birthday weekend, he was unable to celebrate his 49th birthday with his wife, the First Lady Michelle Obama, and his two daughters, Malia and Sasha. Instead Obama went home to Chicago to visit Ford Motors and eat dinner with the likes of Oprah Winfrey. Then on Sunday, President Obama, an avid fan of the National Basketball Association, had the opportunity to join numerous NBA superstars at the gym near the White House for some basketball in front of members of the United States military wounded in battle and members of the mentoring program in the White House.
Joining President Obama on the hardwood in Fort McNair were Carmelo Anthony of the Denver Nuggets, two-time NBA MVP LeBron James and Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat, as well as legends Bill Russell and Magic Johnson, in addition to Maya Moore of the NCAA’s Connecticut Huskies.
Obama was inside playing with the basketball stars for the troops for a solid two hours. All media were kept out of the gym for the duration of the event. Robert Gibbs, the Press Secretary of the White House said the media were kept out because the President “just wanted to play.”
Afterwards, a barbecue was held in the White House to finish off Obama’s birthday weekend. In addition to Obama’s personal friends, some of the basketball stars joined the President for the meal. According to reports, the meal scheduled for the evening would include some shrimp that was caught off of the Gulf of Mexico.
With the midterm elections coming on fast and with the problems stemming from the BP Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico still proving to be an issue, President Obama luckily found a few days to celebrate his birthday in peace and quiet and even got to enjoy playing his favorite sport, basketball. And not only did Obama have some fun for himself, he provided entertainment for wounded troops at a time that just a few hours of watching some basketball players and a politician shoot around a little is enough to bring about some smiles.
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