When we arrived in New York on Wednesday night for the draft, the first thing I noticed was the presence of a lot more police officers than usual. Soon, we learned the reason for the beefed-up security -- President Obama was in town, possibly to inspect Donald Trump’s birth certificate.
An Associated Press report emerging from the President’s dinner at the Waldorf-Astoria pointed out that the Commander-in-Chief visited with the Emperor of Revis Island.
But there’s more to the story. According to the New York Post, two other NFL players attended the dinner: Giants defensive lineman Justin Tuck and Giants linebacker Mathias Kiwanuka.
Tuck said that, during his discussion with Obama, the lockout came up.
“We kept it very generic,” Tuck said. “He talked about how he’s a big football fan and how hopefully he’ll get the opportunity to come to our game down in Washington for 9/11. And he just wanted to reiterate that the fans, and him being a fan, they’re all behind us in hoping that we don’t miss any games. And he said, in a joking manner, ‘If I can do anything to help, let me know.’”
So was he really joking?
“Well, he kind of smirked,” Tuck said. “I say that, but I’m sure he wasn’t necessarily all joking.”
For now, the legislative and executive branches have stayed out of the NFL’s labor dispute. Depending on how the judicial branch resolves the situation, other areas of the federal government could get involved.