WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Obama admitted Friday that his basketball game is suffering and he prefers golf nowadays, but for Attorney General Eric Holder it’s nothing but net.
In a town hall event Friday, President Obama said he’s fallen a long way from his days “dominating” the court.
“I’ll be honest with you, my game is a little broke,” Obama said. “I’ve been a little busy, and what happens is that, sort of, the risk-reward ratio starts shifting.”
Holder, however, is seen sinking the ball with ease in a YouTube video posted Friday.
On Thursday, Holder was in San Francisco to visit the Willie Mays Boys & Girls Club, where he played a pickup game with local police officers and teens.
As Holder finishes up his six-year term, expected to be replaced by attorney general nominee Loretta Lynch, he doesn’t seem too worried about his skills.
“I’m finished, guys,” Holder said as he high-fived another player after his shot. “I’m going out on top.”
White House adviser Valerie Jarrett tweeted out the video, challenging Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, who played basketball while attending Harvard, to show his own skills.
Obama, on the other hand, was thinking back to his 2008 campaign for the presidency, when he would squeeze in pickup games whenever he could. At a campaign event in 2008 he played a three-on-three game refereed by WNBA star Tamika Catchings. When asked about the possibility of playing Catchings in a one-on-one game, he was less than confident.
“She was a witness to my domination on the court, but when it comes to me playing her one-on-one, at this point I’m not sure.”
The President probably remembers all too well when one basketball game resulted in an injury.
In 2010, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said the President received a dozen stitches after getting hit with an errant elbow during a Friday morning basketball game with White House aide Reggie Love and others at Fort McNair military base in Washington.
Although there’s been no sign of any other recent basketball-related injuries, the President said he’s wary of taking the risk.
“The chances of an Achilles tear or an ACL injury is increasing each month, and then the satisfaction I get from playing diminishes because I’m so bad,” the President said. “I think golf, likelihood of injury much lower. But I still love the game. I still love the game.”
Catchings, however, is ready. Friday afternoon she tweeted: “I’m game LOL”
