Obama: I Knew Jeremy Lin First

By: Jenée Desmond-Harris | Posted: March 1, 2012 at 1:38 PM

Barack Obama and Jeremy Lin (Business Insider)

In an interview with ESPN's Bill Simmons, President Barack Obama claims he was among the first on the Jeremy Lin bandwagon and explains that, despite being busy, he's able to keep up with the star New York Knicks player because he forgoes network and cable news and watches Sports Center while working out in the mornings with Michelle.

When Simmons teased the president about having been surpassed by Lin as the nation's favorite Harvard grad, he replied, "I knew about Jeremy before you did, or everybody else did, because Arne Duncan, my secretary of education, was captain of the Harvard team. And so way back when, Arne and I were playing and he said, I'm telling you, we've got this terrific guard named Jeremy Lin at Harvard."

So, does Lin have Obama to thank for his huge popularity? The president didn't take it that far. "I can't take credit for it, but I'm just saying I was there early," he said. "It's a terrific story, he seems like a wonderful young man, and it elevates this great sport around the world."