Obama lauds NBA for anti-gun-violence campaign

President Obama applauded the National Basketball Association on Wednesday for joining his call to end rampant gun violence in America.

Obama, a well-known hoops fan, tweeted:

I’m proud of the @NBA for taking a stand against gun violence. Sympathy for victims isn’t enough – change requires all of us speaking up.

— President Obama (@POTUS) December 23, 2015

NBA stars Stephen Curry, Carmelo Anthony, Joakim Noah and Chris Paul appear in a new television commercial sponsored by the league and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s Everytown for Gun Safety Group.

“I heard about a shooting involving a 3-year-old girl over the summer. My daughter, Riley, is that age,” Curry, a former Obama golf partner, says in the ad.

“Basketball brought me to a different route in my life, but every kid should have an outlet to reach his or her full potential,” Anthony said in a statement. 

The NBA is giving a high-profile boost to Obama’s push to address gun violence in the wake of a string of mass shootings that have cast a cloud over his presidency. 

The president renewed his call on policymakers to tighten the nation’s gun laws in the wake of an October shooting at a community college in Oregon. 

That push took on a new sense of urgency after this month’s terrorist attack in San Bernardino, Calif. 

Obama has proposed a raft of measures, including banning people on the government’s no-fly list from purchasing a firearm. Facing blanket opposition from Republicans in Congress, he is also considering new executive actions to expand background check requirements for gun sales. 

Obama huddled with Bloomberg at the White House last week to discuss his gun control push.