Barack Obama wants to visit set of Jackie Robinson movie '42'

The president recently expressed interest in the game of baseball and specifically in '42', the new movie chronicling the career of the first African-American major league baseball player Jackie Robinson...

TheGrio Staff

Jun 25, 2012

The president recently expressed interest in the game of baseball and specifically in 42, the new movie chronicling the career of the first African-American Major League Baseball player Jackie Robinson. Obama asked his staffers to make a request for him to visit the set of the upcoming film. The Huffington Post reports:

Movie studios often invite members of the press to the sets of upcoming films as a way to build buzz. In the case of Barack Obama, however, no invitations are needed. According to Deadline.com, Obama will reportedly head to the set of the Jackie Robinson biopic “42” on Tuesday after White House staffers made the request.

“42” is about the life of Jackie Robinson, the first African-American baseball player to reach the major leagues. It stars Harrison Ford as Brooklyn Dodgers general manager Branch Rickey (the man responsible for bringing Robinson up) and Chadwick Boseman as Robinson.

Obama is a noted sports fan — though basketball is his game of choice, not baseball — and he recently brought up Robinson during a campaign fundraiser hosted by Willie Mays.

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