President Obama Weighs in on NFLRA Lockout

By: Kim O'Hara | Posted: September 25, 2012

It's no longer just coaches, players, media and fans speaking out. The most powerful man in the world has joined the fray. In response to last night's unprecedented officating disaster, President Barack Obama tweeted "NFL fans on both sides of the aisle hope the refs' lockout is settled soon. -bo". 

Obama is a well known sports fan. He publicly supports the Chicago Bears and fills out NCAA basketball tournament brackets (both women's and men's) annually. This isn't even the first time he's publicly voiced an opinion on matters of an athletic nature. After he was elected in 2008, he promised to "throw his weight around a little bit" in an effort to encourage a BCS playoff system in place of the national championship format. The BCS has since approved a four-team playoff to begin in 2014, though it may be more in response to January's dreadful Alabama-LSU Rematch/National Championship than any muscle Obama may have flexed.

There's truthfully not much the President can do in response to the NFL-NFLRA dispute; at best, he can appeal to both sides for a resolution. Up until this point, the President has stressed his position as a sports fan, not as the leader of the free world. If he does address the NFL and NFLRA in an official capacity before the lockout is resolved, his popularity may skyrocket. Especially in Wisconsin. But don't be surprised if Obama elects to focus on other American trivialities in advance of November's election. You know, jobs, the economy and the like. 

Kim O'Hara is the Associate Editor of TheFootballGirl.com. She is an avid fan of sports in general, but the NFL in particular. She has also been a contributor to ESPN the Magazine. Follow her on Twitter: @arahomik   

Check out more After Further Review...

Write a comment

• Required fields are marked with *.

Name:
Email:
Subject:
Comment: *

Help prevent spam - enter security code above: