The not so well-kept secret of the Obama campaign? That if you stop by your local headquarters, there's a good chance you'll run into an NBA player. They've appeared at voter registration drives, and turned out for fundraisers en masse. But with the exception of Baron Davis and Greg Oden (and Josh Howard, sort of), there haven't been any outright endorsements. And yes, it's because they're being told not to, sometimes even by their handlers on-site.
That's why I was impressed to find out (WORLD EXCLUSIVE) that tomorrow, Dwyane Wade's going to register to vote for the first time and then register others—presumably to vote for the Heat guard's fellow Chicagoan. Not to take anything away from Baron and Oden, but they don't live in the mother of all swing states, nor are they among the Association's five biggest names. You can laugh at the registering himself part, but I think it sends the right message: It doesn't matter if you've never been involved, either because you've been told not to, or just haven't cared to. This is that time to change all that.
So hats off to the guy for being one of the few to take that critical last step. I said at one point that, given how "black" basketball reads, Obama's close identification with the sport could be a negative; according to that logic, having athletes out in the open could be a liability. But obviously the campaign wants them around and really, how depressing is it to suggest that, for political reasons, ordinarily apolitical figures shouldn't get involved?
And Dr. LIC, I'm finally with you on that contempt for Melo.
BONUS: Me and Ziller team up for a Gelf piece on stats, scouting and common sense.
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