Hurts has been seen swinging a golf club since signing his contract
Obama attempts to energize the base ahead of the election
Fox News senior correspondent Mike Tobin has the latest on the former president's campaign for Vice President Harris in Wisconsin on 'Special Report.'
Philadelphia Eagles star quarterback Jalen Hurts addressed why he did not join a round of golf with former president Obama, Eagles general manager Jeffrey Lurie and teammate Saquon Barkley on Tuesday.
Hurts claimed during a press conference on Thursday that the reason he didn't golf was because of a clause in his contract that prohibited the quarterback from playing golf.
"I can't golf right now. By contract, I can't golf," Hurts told reporters.
However, no such clause actually exists in his five-year, $255 million contract, according to reports. An Eagles spokesperson told The Philadelphia Inquirer that there is an unofficial agreement between Hurts and Lurie in which the quarterback doesn't become "golf-obsessed."
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Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) passes against the New Orleans Saints during the first half at Caesars Superdome. (Stephen Lew-Imagn Images)
Hurts has been seen swinging a golf club since signing his contract in April 2023.
A team video shows Hurts golfing at the Eagles' facility in front of his teammates in August of 2023. Hurts' swing was so bad, that it drew the mockery of his own teammates.
Jalen Hurts’ contract with the #Eagles doesn’t include a clause that he can’t play golf — as he said on Wednesday — according to a team spokesman.
— Jeff McLane (@Jeff_McLane) November 1, 2024
It’s more the honoring of a verbal request from owner Jeffrey Lurie, who would prefer to see his franchise QB not become golf…
But prior to that, the PGA Tour posted a TikTok video of Hurts golfing ambidextrously at Top Golf.
DEION SANDERS ACCUSES OBAMA OF ‘PLAYING POLITICAL GAMES’ BY PICKING ARIZONA TO BEAT COLORADO
Former U.S. President Barack Obama speaks during the Democratic National Convention (DNC) at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, on Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2024. (Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
But even though Hurts did not get to join Obama on the golf course this week, he called the former president a "trash talker." Hurts also appears intent to face Obama in golf at some point.
"To see him out there enjoying himself and talking a little trash, that was cool," Hurts said. "I told him he didn't want these problems just yet. "His day will come."
Obama has a history of playing golf with high-profile athletes. At times, he has also convinced them to carry out a political statement on behalf of his agenda.
Golden State Warriors superstar Steph Curry claims the former president even scolded him once after he had promoted a conspiracy theory. After making comments in which he suggested the 1969 moon landing was a hoax on the Vince Carter-hosted "Winging It" podcast in December 2018, Curry says he received a stern email from Obama telling him to publicly walk back the comments.
Former President Barack Obama speaks alongside Golden State Warriors basketball player Stephen Curry during the MBK Rising! My Brother's Keeper Alliance Summit in Oakland, California on February 19, 2019. (JOSH EDELSON/AFP via Getty Images)
"That night, I got an email … a pretty stern, direct one from President Obama," Curry told Rolling Stone, adding Obama said, "‘You’ve got to do something about this.’"
Two days after making the comments, Curry later told ESPN his comments had been a joke and then accepted an invitation to tour NASA.
Curry has also endorsed Kamala Harris for president after endorsing Biden in 2020.
Meanwhile, Hurts called Obama an "all-time leader" on Thursday. He previously spoke out about stopping gun violence in June.
During a campaign stop for Harris in Pittsburgh last month, Obama addressed the vice president's dwindling support among Black voters, especially Black men.
"Now, I also want to say that that seems to be more pronounced with the brothers. So if you don't mind, just for a second, I've got to speak to y’all and say that when you have a choice, that is this clean: When on the one hand, you have somebody who grew up like you, went to college with you, understands the struggles [and the] pain and joy that comes from those experiences," Obama said.
NFL icon Herschel Walker spoke out against former president for the comments in a post on X.
"[Barack Obama], you forgot how hard we fought for our right to vote! Telling us how to vote based on color is a step backward. The bad policies of Biden/Harris have hurt us all. We need unity brother, not division!" Walker wrote in a post on X on Saturday.
Meanwhile NFL Hall of Famer and Colorado football head coach Deion Sanders recently accused Obama of "playing politics" for picking Arizona to beat Colorado on Oct. 19.
Colorado blew out Arizona 34-7 to improve to 5-2 on the season. After the game, Sanders called out Obama to the press, suggesting he only picked Arizona because he was in the state campaigning earlier this week.
"I heard what he said. Mr. President, I heard what you said," Sanders told reporters after the game. "That's why I really don't get into politics, because politicians, they play the political game. He was here, and he had to play the political game."
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Jackson Thompson is a sports writer for Fox News Digital. He previously worked for ESPN and Business Insider. Jackson has covered the Super Bowl and NBA Finals, and has interviewed iconic figures Usain Bolt, Rob Gronkowski, Jerry Rice, Troy Aikman, Mike Trout, David Ortiz and Roger Clemens.
