President Joe Biden praised the Milwaukee Bucks for their political activism during a White House ceremony celebrating their NBA championship.
Biden lauded the team for supporting police reform after a white officer last year shot Jacob Blake, who is black, seven times in the back, sparking widespread protests and riots in their home state. He also touted their efforts encouraging fans to vote and roll up their sleeves for COVID-19 shots.
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“Last year, as a team, you took a stand for justice and peace in the wake of Jacob Blake’s shooting in Kenosha, Wisconsin,” Biden said Monday. “You’ve gotten people engaged in the vote, in the political process. You’ve encouraged fans to get vaccinated. I just want to thank you.”
Biden, too, marked the NBA’s 75th anniversary, comparing the team and league’s success to politics and recalling how Chinese President Xi Jinping invited him to a basketball game during a visit when he was President Barack Obama’s No. 2.
“In sport and in democracy, unity, perhaps, is the most elusive thing,” Biden said, alluding to his $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure deal and negotiations over the $1.75 trillion social welfare and climate bill. “As one team, as one nation, there’s not a thing we’ve ever failed to do.”
After his remarks and a brief speech from towering power forward and finals MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, the 46th president was presented with a Bucks “Biden 46” jersey and posed for photographs with Delaware native shooting guard Donte DiVincenzo.
The Bucks beat the Phoenix Suns in the NBA’s 2021 final series, four games to two.
Biden told reporters after the event he was “always optimistic” regarding his legislative agenda. House Republicans had to help him pass the Senate-approved infrastructure deal last week after some liberal lawmakers withheld their votes in protest over the chamber not simultaneously clearing the broader, more expensive package.
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“It’s going to be a tough fight. It ain’t over yet, as they say, as the old expression goes. But I feel good, and I think people are getting to realize it’s important to get it done,” he said.
