President Obama Explores Using the NBA to Promote Obamacare Acceptance

It’s well documented that President Barack Obama is an avid sports fan and enjoys interacting with sports personalities (not to mention getting down on the court or golf course himself from time to time). So it’s really no surprise he now suggests using the NBA to market Obamacare.

From Politico:

Could LeBron James be the next spokesman for Obamacare?

The Obama administration has reached out to the NBA about a potential marketing partnership to promote the health law, POLITICO has learned.

The news, revealed recently by Massachusetts officials who have been in contact with the administration, offers a glimpse at how President Barack Obama’s team plans to push the new coverage options to a public that largely has been clueless about the new health insurance options.The NBA declined to comment. A spokesman said, “We have nothing to announce at this time.”It’s unclear whether a potential partnership would put big-name ballplayers — like James, the Miami Heat superstar — at the center of ad campaigns or whether it would be as modest as permitting the administration to affix the NBA logo onto marketing materials. An agreement itself isn’t even a slam dunk; Obamacare is partisan and controversial, and the NBA could decide it doesn’t want to go near it.

The reasoning for choosing the NBA over the NFL - the most popular sport on TV - is unclear. What is clear is that Lebron James should probably not be the spokesman. Yes he is the best player in the NBA and yes he did just win his second championship, but in that final Game 7 the San Antonio Spurs fans out-polled the Heat fans 32%-20% in a nationwide poll.

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