Eagles' Jalen Hurts on why he couldn't golf with Barack Obama, and calls him trash talker

Eagles’ Jalen Hurts on why he couldn’t golf with Barack Obama, and calls him trash talker

Posted by author October 30, 2024 Golf

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PHILADELPHIA − Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts called it “a blessing” to spend the team’s off-day Monday on the golf course with former President Barack Obama.

But Hurts didn’t actually play golf with the former president, while teammate Saquon Barkley did. Barkley, in fact, called it “one of the coolest experiences I’ve ever had in my life.”

Hurts did, too, saying that Obama is one of the six people he’d always wanted to meet in life.

But Hurts said over the summer that he had taken up tennis because he wasn’t allowed to play golf. On Wednesday, Hurts admitted that it was due to a clause in his contract. So he had to watch as he said Obama talked a little trash to him.

“To see him out there enjoying himself and talking a little trash, that was cool,” Hurts said. “I told him he didn’t want these problems just yet. I can’t golf right now. By contract, I can’t golf. His day will come.”

Over the summer, Hurts said he took up tennis because: “I was told not to golf by Mr. Lurie. (It’s a) funny story, I’ll tell you another day.”

Hurts said Wednesday was not that day to reveal the story, but he did admit it was in the five-year contract worth as much as $255 million, at the insistence of Eagles chairman and CEO Jeffrey Lurie.

Still, Hurts said he enjoyed the day with Obama, Barkley and Lurie.

Hurts called Obama “kind of like an uncle figure out there.”

Then he added: “President Obama, an all-time leader, a great presence. I guess the word is ‘down to earth.’ I can only imagine that lifestyle and the different things that come with that.”

As for meeting one of those people he always wanted to meet and what he learned from Obama, Hurts said: “I like to keep it as intimate as possible. I think that’s just a blessing in my young time, to be able to establish the handful of individuals I’d love to meet, and kind of be complete after that.

“I’ve met some, and we’ve lost some to Father Time. The only one left is Denzel Washington. I’ve got a lot of respect for those guys, and every time I’ve been able to speak with them, be in their presence, it’s always been a fruitful conversation. Nothing aimless about it. I feel I left their presence as a better person, a more wiser person. Honestly, I hope to have the same impact on (others), too.”

Barkley, who admitted over the summer that he has become an avid golfer after playing with teammate and backup QB Kenny Pickett, said he loved the experience, too.

Barkley said the group played at Lower Merion as part of a fundraiser for the Eagles Autism Foundation. And that he was impressed with Obama’s game.

“He’s pretty good. He’s an athlete,” Barkley said. “Merion is not an easy place either.”

What was Barkley’s biggest takeaway?

“He asked me a lot of great questions,” Barkley said. “It was cool. He definitely did his research. Asked me questions about my family. The coolest thing I took away from my experience with him was how he treats people, from the caddie to anybody that came up to him, he looked him in the eye.

“He made sure he had conversations with them, asked them what their name was. When you’re at that level, and you still take the time to do that, it was genuine, too. You could tell it was genuine. It inspired me.”

Barkley added that they stayed away from politics.

Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on X @Mfranknfl.