Obama Brings Bosh, Durant, Other Charitable Players To Play For Fundraising Event

Barack Obama is still "a little heartbroken" about the NBA lockout, so he's taking a shot at the charity basketball game trend.

The commander-in-chief will hold the first ever "Obama Classic Basketball Game" on Dec. 12 to benefit his reelection campaign, BarackObama.com reports. While the Washington, D.C. venue hasn't yet been announced, some big names, including Chris Bosh, Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony have already confirmed that they'll play.

But, these NBA players aren't strangers to such fundraising games. Back in October, Bosh hit the court with fellow Heat stars to raise money for Mary's Court Foundation, a nonprofit that supports Chicago's disadvantaged youth. Durant played for the Single Parents Support Network of Oklahoma City and Anthony pulled in LeBron James and Chris Paul to raise $25,000 to build a basketball court in his hometown.

While the lockout prohibits team officials and players from interacting, the league has issued an exception for Obama's event, according to the Sun Sentinal where tickets are fetching between $200 and $5,000.

As Obama gears up for his classic, he continues to share his views on bringing the sport back.

"We should be able to figure out how to split a $9 billion pot so that our fans, who are allowing us to make all of this money, can actually have a good season," he told Jay Leno. "And I think the owners and the basketball players need to think the same way."

Comments

[Bu Abdullah M AlMelhem]

12:22 PM on 11/21/2011

You are downright Dmcrdoa in the homeland of the country of freedom people Sawa Pkz Lee You have reached the lifting of God, if you are shut up in Avatar-I love you Brown Abama

[bettestreep]

10:10 PM on 11/20/2011

I'm betting a few basketballers will decline Obama's invitation because they don't care much for the President.

[Mamadea]

09:47 PM on 11/20/2011

OBAMA2012

[independentvoter007]

05:21 PM on 11/20/2011

Obama shoulda stuck to basketball.

[scottman31]

03:18 PM on 11/20/2011

Why is a political fundraiser being billed as a charity event?

[aintitgrand]

04:36 PM on 11/20/2011

That is a truly misleading title, I agree.

[jculp49]

02:20 PM on 11/20/2011

Gee to benefit his election campaign, you can tell he is really worried about the economy.Haven't heard a thing from him in quite some time on that issue!!

[bettestreep]

10:12 PM on 11/20/2011

He can't get a word in amongst all those fantastic job creation policies Boehner and the Repugs have implemented since they took over congress in 2010!

[WhatWhat1]

02:35 AM on 11/21/2011

How's that Republican jobs bill coming along? It's been over a year and they have produced nothing.
I dare you to respond.

[arnie41068]

02:11 PM on 11/20/2011

David Stern Told S.I. Legalized Gambling on the NBA May Be a Huge Opportunity

12 years ago, as a compulsive-gamblers counselor, I was asked to fly to New York to the National Basketball Association office in Manhattan and met with league officials, players and union officials, concerned about players' gambling. I was told, "We have a problem, and we're trying to find out how bad the problem is" Officials asked me to keep my calendar open for the spring of the following year and said to me that they wanted me to address every team and player in the league. They then flew my wife in, and we had a second meeting they asked us develop questions that were going to be given to the players to answer. "We need to know how big the gambling problem is in the N.B.A,"

I called and asked, "When do we start?" The talked were cancelled, and the response I got was this: "They said that the higher-ups didn't want the media to find out"
On a TV show with Howard Cossell (ABC Sports Beat). The topic was: Does the media encourage the public to gamble? David Stern, NBA commissioner said: "We don't want the week's grocery money to be bet on the outcome of a particular sporting event"








The Wexlers run a national help line for gamblers who want help- 888 LAST BET

Arnie Wexler ( [e-mail])


Office #: 561-2490922 cell 954 501 5270

[Kali03]

12:13 PM on 11/20/2011

I love President Obama! Not only can he go out onto the world stage and represent us with intelligence, class, and flair but he also can come home and do something cool in the realm of basketball, a sport that is American like apple pie!

[aintitgrand]

04:37 PM on 11/20/2011

VERY cool dude.

[Kali03]

06:08 PM on 11/20/2011

Racist.