Media

ESPN to invite Trump to fill out basketball brackets

by Joe Concha - 01/20/17 2:26 PM ET

President Trump has unofficially been invited to continue a sports tradition started by his predecessor: filling out his NCAA March Madness college basketball bracket on ESPN.

“At the appropriate time we will explore the bracket opportunity if he’s interested,” ESPN spokesman Josh Krulewitz told the Sporting News.

Trump once owned a professional sports team in the United States Football League, the New Jersey Generals. He is periodically seen at Knicks and Yankees games in New York.

Trump is also an avid golfer and owns several courses around the world.

{mosads}The decision comes as ESPN has faced a backlash from conservatives that the sports network was too politically liberal in its commentary programs.

Most notably, in 2016, ESPN fired Curt Schilling, a former Boston Red Sox pitcher and self-described Republican, for his harsh criticism of Charlotte, N.C.’s transgender bathroom law.

For his eight years in office, Obama — an big basketball fan on both the pro and college level — had made his picks on ESPN. On three of those eight occasions, he picked Kansas to win it all.

The 68-team NCAA Tournament begins on March 14.

Tags Donald Trump