Barack Obama had one of the best seats in the house to view the Los Angeles Clippers in the NBA on Wednesday evening – but he did not bring wife Michelle with him.
In the midst of months of divorce rumors with which the couple who have been married for 32 years, the former president, sat with clippers – owner Steve Ballmer – a former Microsoft CEO – and his wife Connie Snyder for the match against Detroit Pistons.
Obama received a huge reception when he was presented to the crowd during an interval in the game, standing up and waved with fans who had packed the 18,000 seats Intuit Dome in Inglewood.
The 63-year-old has confronted for months with intensifying control of his marriage. Obama was only in the state funeral of Jimmy Carter and the inauguration of Donald Trump, where Michelle broke the tradition by refusing to be present.
Last October, actress Jennifer Aniston publicly 'absolutely untrue' claims from a US Gossip Magazine that she and Barack had a relationship – so Michelle felt 'betrayed'.
The rumor was exacerbated by the hosts of a popular pop culture podcast that? Every week, who claimed that the Obamas 'lived separately' while he and Jennifer had a complete affair.
Barack Obama was in the NBA on Wednesday to see how the clippers beat the pistons
Obama was seen again without his wife Michelle for the game in Los Angeles
But Obama received a huge welcome from the crowd when he was introduced during an interval
The Friends star told an American TV chatshowhost: 'I met him once. I know Michelle more than him. '
If he is confronted with marital problems, one night in basketball might have been a welcome distraction for the 44th president, since he is a big fan of the sport.
And both teams set up a fantastic show for such a leading guest. Star Clippers Point Guard James Harden scored 50 points when the hosts won 123-115 against the visiting pistons.
Obama was also greeted with a hug by the clippers head coach Tyronn Lue. He is actually a fan of the Chicago Bulls, but moved to the city in the 1980s and is ultimately as a senator of Illinois.
But in the early days of his time in the city, Obama struggled to pay tickets to see the all-victory Bulls team, led by Michael Jordan, in action.
“When Michael came to the city for the first time, I didn't have the money to buy tickets for a Bulls game, even the discount on the day,” Obama once said. “I was pretty brutal.”
His brother-in-law, Craig Robinson, also enjoyed a career in the sport self-zowel as a coach as in front office positions.
After having worked as a coach at College level for Oregon State, Robinson's President of the Player Organization for the Milwaukee Bucks in 2016 in 2016.
Obama's repeated public performances without wife Michelle have led to divorce rumors
Obama was hugged by Clippers -Coach Tyronn Lue in a warm welcome for the NBA game
Obama sat between Ballmer and his wife Connie while the clippers beat the pistons with eight
He had that role for a year before he went to the Big Apple to take a similar position with the New York Knicks. Robinson left that job in 2020.
Obama's NBA -also comes one day after Donald Trump's speech.
Sport on display in his address, where he died against Transatletes who participated in women's sports by introducing a former high school volleyball player in Payton Mcnabb.
She was seriously injured when a trans player distributed a ball into her face, causing her to bleed a concussion, brain and permanent whiplash. And later she said she was also dealing with partial paralysis and vision problems.
