For the majority of his presidency, Barack Obama took time out of his busy schedule being the leader of the free world to indulge his love for basketball and fill out ESPN’s NCAA Tournament bracket in a televised special. And every year, right on cue, he took a lot of heat from kill-joy critics who complained that he should be devoting his time to more important matters.
Now, it appears Donald Trump has decided not to carry on the annual tradition that endeared his predecessor to so many basketball fans around the world. Via Rick Maese of The Washington Post:
An ESPN spokesman said in a statement: “We expressed our interest to the White House in continuing the presidential bracket. They have respectfully declined.”
White House spokeswoman Hope Hicks said in an email to The Washington Post: “We look forward to working with ESPN on another opportunity in the near future.” Neither the White House nor ESPN had any details on what other opportunities might lie down the road.
Obama was an avid hoops fan who attended NBA games and played pickup basketball at the White House. It’s unclear what, if any, level of interest Trump has in sports beyond his brief stint in professional wrestling.
