Barack Obama Details Call With NBA Players About Playing Out 2019-20 Season

The Milwaukee Bucks made a statement back in August when they did not play in their playoff game against the Orlando Magic after the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisc.

There was speculation the season wouldn’t continue, but a call with former United States president Barack Obama from LeBron James and Chris Paul reportedly helped the league to use their platform for good.

And now Obama is speaking about the advise he gave the players.

“The conversation we had was along the lines LeBron spoke about,” Obama said in a conversation with James and Maverick Carter on HBO’s “The Shop: Uninterrupted.” “Protest is useful in terms of raising awareness, but given the power that the NBA players had, my suggestion was that you use that platform to see if you can start asking for some specifics.

“This isn’t something that’s just a one-off. Sadly, what we’ve seen is that it happens again and again,” Obama added. “So, one of the suggestions I had for the players was: Is it possible for you guys to set up an office that allows you, on an ongoing basis, to take best practices that are going to start making incidents like this less likely.”

Check out the full segment below:

The NBA finished out its season with James and the Los Angeles Lakers claiming the championship. Players also donned messages about social justice and racial inequality on the backs of their jerseys.