Rumors

It’s common knowledge that President Barack Obama is a basketball fanatic with a nice jumper. But did you know that late Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., could hoop, too? The story of how MLK and Obama used basketball to make connections is revealed in “Hoops, Hopes & Dreams,” a documentary debuting on Hulu today on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Andscape

“I liked everything about it,” Washington Wizards forward Khris Middleton told Andscape after the film was shown to his teammates at the National Museum of African American History and Culture on Jan. 8. “First of all, its basketball. Two of the most important people of our lifetime, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Barack Obama are playing basketball and also using basketball as a vehicle to encourage people to come out and support their movements, what they were doing and support what they were fighting for. When I watched it at first, I was like, ‘There is no way Martin Luther King was a hooper.’ All hoopers love hoopers. We’ve seen the documentation and videos of Barack playing. But to know that Dr. King played is pretty cool.”

Andscape

Middleton said it was a no-brainer to join as a producer after being invited by Alexys Feaster. Middleton said he has seen the movie five times and gave Feaster feedback after viewing it. His sister, Brittney, also was one of the producers. “Alexis brought this to my attention and I did some research on it,” Middleton said. “We sat and talked about it and I decided this was an easy, ‘Yes,’ with a lot of the things I’ve been involved in the past and was currently. I thought it was a perfect first film to produce.”

Andscape

LeBron James: I SECOND THAT!!! Congratulations my fellow flag bearer @CocoGauff 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾🤎

Twitter

The garbage, in his words, is the recycled spectacle of American electoral politics. Whether it’s Trump or Biden, Obama or Bush, Hodges believes the real decision-makers wear tailored suits on Wall Street — not the White House. “To me, Trump and Biden? It’s a uniparty. Two wings of the same bird,” Hodges said. “And the bird don’t fly for us.” That’s not a new theme in his rhetoric. He’s been speaking this truth since his NBA days — when he tried to organize players into a collective consciousness of activism and economic self-determination. Now, in 2025, with disinformation rampant and trust in institutions crumbling, Hodges feels vindicated. “We’ve been losing jobs since we’ve been in America, shit!” he says, voice rising. “When we were fully employed, y’all didn’t have a problem with us — because we were totally enslaved.”

ScoopB.com

His frustration extends to the Democratic establishment — especially President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. “They won’t step up to the plate and say that this dude is incompetent from Day 1,” Hodges said of Biden. “We can’t say that because it’s ‘politically incorrect.’ And then you wanna give me Kamala Harris? Nah, man.” He doesn’t blame the system for being what it is. He blames us — for still expecting it to save us. “We didn’t say Democrats and Republicans we want y’all to sit down and listen to what we need over here… but we ain’t unified like that.” Unity, for Hodges, is the missing piece. It’s not about waiting for another Barack or denouncing another Trump. It’s about organization, ownership, and truth-telling. Even when it’s uncomfortable. Especially when it is. “It’s a game, man,” Hodges said one more time, with a sigh. “And I hope we can see where we sit — because it’s getting ready to get REALLY hectic.”

ScoopB.com

For Hodges, the American economy has never been for Black folks. From slavery to sharecropping, from redlining to underfunded schools, he sees a nation addicted to Black labor — and allergic to Black power. So when Trump sat with billionaires and signed executive orders, Hodges didn’t flinch. He just asked, “Why didn’t Barack do the same for us?” “I ain’t saying I support Trump,” Hodges clarified. “I’m saying look at what he’s allowed to do — because of who he answers to. It’s billionaires sitting around the table with him, man!” That’s the deeper wound for Hodges. Not just that power is corrupt, but that even so-called “Black excellence” hasn’t figured out how to truly claim it. “You look at where the money lies and everyone knows. Everyone is afraid,” he said. “If we were to be organized, we would have a political faction, a financial establishment, a generation of young men and women who are capable of being politically powerful.”

ScoopB.com

Curry is a self-proclaimed “golf junkie.” He plays 40 rounds a year, carries a reported +1.3 handicap index and has flirted with the idea of going pro after basketball. He has played with President Barack Obama and at Augusta National. With that privilege, Curry said, comes a responsibility to assist others who need obstacles removed to have success in golf — and life. Those obstacles were supposed to be eased by the arrival of Tiger Woods. But Woods’s success never translated into an influx of people of color reaching the PGA or LPGA tours. That left an opening for Curry to take a shot at changing the complexion of another game through Underrated Golf. “It’s a solvable issue, if that makes sense,” he said. “Get kids into the game earlier and get clubs in their hands, make sure there’s no financial burden on, or a barrier to, them being able to play the game. The game needs it. I would almost be doing myself a disservice” to not invest.

Washington Post

What stands out most in Gordon’s already one-of-a-kind warehouse gym home are the celebrity icons from different genres. Many are no longer with us. Gordon chose each specifically for daily motivation. A young Obama smoking marijuana. Einstein. Athletes including Serena Williams, Muhammad Ali, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Tony Hawk, Julius “Dr. J” Erving, Pele, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan and Jackie Robinson. Dancer Josephine Baker. Actor and martial arts legend Bruce Lee. Musicians Billie Holliday, Prince, Lauryn Hill, Miles Davis, Bob Marley, Jimmy Hendrix, B.B. King, Notorious B.I.G., Nipsey Hussle, Michael Jackson and Mac Miller. Olympic activists John Carlos and Tommie Smith. Comedian Richard Pryor. Actor Heath Ledger. Civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. Civil rights activist and Muslim minister Malcolm X. Filmmaker Spike Lee. Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. Antiapartheid activist Nelson Mandela. Legendary sports journalist Stuart Scott. Poet Maya Angelou. “I got everybody there from Muhammad Ali to Bruce Lee,” Aaron Gordon said. “You have greatness looking at you. You can’t be [joking around]. It makes you want to not bulls—.”

Andscape

Barack Obama: Thank you @KingJames for using your voice to make clear what’s at stake. Listen to LeBron, make sure you vote.

Twitter

Barack Obama has a problem with the NBA All-Star Game, and he told Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton about it. "You gotta have a little more pride in that All-Star Game. That All-Star Game is broke, man," Obama told Haliburton, saying he won't watch it anymore. Haliburton could only offer this in response: "Larry Bird came in there and gave us a speech about taking it more serious." "And it didn't work," Obama responded.

Indianapolis Star

Obama said he enjoys watching the Pacers: "I like how the Pacers are playing. ... The beautiful game, and the ball's popping. You're not backing up and dribbling the whole time." But added a critique: "You've got to pick up that defense a little bit."

Indianapolis Star

“A lot of young people — a lot of young men — they get frustrated, and they say, ‘Well, nothing’s happened,’” Barack Obama told NBA All-Star Tyrese Haliburton, 24, and producer Tommy Alter in a clip first shared with NBC News. “But let’s say — when I was president I didn’t cure racism, I didn’t eliminate poverty. But 50 million people got health insurance. That didn’t happen before, and that saved lives and made people’s lives better.”

NBC

The podcast, “The Young Man and the Three,” is a rebrand of a show that was called “The Old Man and the Three,” which had more than a million YouTube subscribers, with an overwhelming young and male audience.

NBC