NBA stars Chris Paul, LeBron James seek counsel from Barack Obama amid boycott

National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) President and Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star point guard Chris Paul reached out and talked to former U.S. President Barack Obama regarding the ongoing NBA boycott.

Other players such as Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James joined the call.

According to CNN, Paul reached out to former President Obama for advice regarding the boycott that started in the wake of Jacob Blake's shooting last week by police officers responding to a 911 call.

Obama is an avid basketball fan who regularly speaks with players and league officials. He was featured in Michael Jordan's "The Last Dance" as a basketball fan from Chicago during the Jordan Era.

The call was to seek advice regarding gaining leverage to advance their social justice platforms and ensure that the league will help players with their sustained, meaningful engagement against social injustice in the United States, particularly on police brutality against black individuals.

The specifics of the call were not released.

The boycott began when championship contender Milwaukee Bucks refused to take the floor and called for justice for Blake and demanded that the officers responsible be held accountable for their actions.

Other teams followed suit, forcing the NBA to suspend the 2019-2020 season again. It has been barely a month since the season restarted after being suspended for over four months due to the coronavirus pandemic.

NBA superstar Kyrie Irving was calling for a boycott before the NBA restart after the police shooting of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

In the most recent shooting of another African-American man, Jacob Blake, in Kenosha, Wisconsin, police officers allegedly shot the suspect on the back seven times (hitting him four times). Blake survived the shooting and was later arrested in the hospital. Blake has outstanding warrants on sexual assault, disorderly conduct, and domestic abuse.

The Blake shooting is the latest incident of police officers acting aggressively during arrests that resulted in either the death or grave injury of the suspect. It prompted NBA players to call for justice by boycotting the playoff games.