Michelle Obama shared details about a significant medical procedure that her husband, Barack Obama, underwent while he was President. She disclosed that the former Commander-in-Chief experienced an embarrassing injury while in the White House.
During the most recent episode of her podcast, “IMO With Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson,” the former First Lady discussed this incident with her brother. She humorously described Barack’s injury as an ‘I told you so’ moment for her.
Reflecting on an episode from 2010, Michelle Obama recounted how she insisted that Barack stop playing basketball at the White House after he got his lip busted during a pickup game.
‘I don’t think many people realize this because he was definitely in shape, athletic.’
Michelle said her brother Craig – who was drafted into the NBA in 1993 by the Philadelphia 76ers but never played a game – was also playing in that White House game, and said she was with a doctor when she heard there had ‘been an accident.’
‘I’m like, ‘Ugh,’ because I’m always like, ‘Be careful playing basketball. You shouldn’t be playing now. You now have a real important job,’ Michelle continued.
‘And literally, he’s coming in with a gauze thing on his lip… he needed like 30-something stitches.’
The White House said at the time that the president was accidentally hit in the mouth by Rey Decerega, an official with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, who said after that Obama ‘is both a tough competitor and a good sport.’
Michelle recalled that Barack’s injury came at an inconvenient moment for the White House before a ‘major speech’.
The speech was made in Washington after Obama held a bipartisan Congressional leadership meeting in the Eisenhower Executive Office, and he was seen in images with a large bruise and cut on his lower lip.
‘He had some major speech on Monday, and I was, like, ‘This is what I’m saying. You know, you’re playing like you’re 10 and now your lip is split,’ Michelle said.
At the time, the White House said the president was given local anesthetic for the procedure, and images circulated showing Barack holding an ice pack to his face from a White House window.
Decerega said in a statement after it was revealed that he was the player who hit the president that he ‘enjoyed playing basketball with him this morning’, adding: ‘I’m sure he’ll be back out on the court again soon.’
Michelle revealed the anecdote amid unfounded divorce rumors between her and Barack, with the former first couple putting on a show of unity in the face of the gossip this week as they stepped out on a romantic date night.
The anecdote came up as the podcast touched upon Robinson’s love for basketball, with the former Princeton University standout once famously playing a game of pickup basketball against Barack in the 1990s as a favor to his sister.
Michelle said at the time that she wanted her brother to play against Barack to judge his character when they first started dating.
Michelle joked on her podcast that it would be ‘time to use a different measure now’ at her husband’s age.
Robinson became well known during the 2008 presidential election for this role as it became a regular anecdote on the campaign trail, and on Wednesday’s episode he said it rang true because ‘people let their guard down’ during a game.
He said the two became fast friends because of the way Barack played, previously telling Esquire: ‘He was quietly confident, which means he had good self-esteem without being cocky.
‘He was certainly a team player — he wasn’t a pig, he passed when he was supposed to pass, and he cut when he was supposed to cut. To me, that speaks to a lack of selfishness.
‘He had natural leadership ability, because he didn’t just pass me the ball because he was dating my sister. Whenever a player gets tired, he reverts back to the player he truly is. That’s how you tell. And we played for hours. That’s how I could tell.’
The rumors of a rift between Barack and Michelle were ignited when she decided not to attend President Jimmy Carter’s funeral in January, before also skipping President Trump’s inauguration – both events Barack showed face for.
Barack recently also revealed he was in a ‘deep deficit’ with his wife and has been trying to ‘dig his way out by doing fun things.’
The former first lady addressed the speculation during a recent interview with actress Sophia Bush for an episode of her podcast Work in Progress.
‘That’s the thing that we as women, I think we struggle with disappointing people,’ she said.
‘So much so that this year people were, you know, they couldn’t even fathom that I was making a choice for myself that they had to assume that my husband and I are divorcing.
‘That this couldn’t be a grown woman just making a set of decisions for herself, right?’
Her 61st birthday was three days before the inauguration.
