Barack Obama-Key and Peele handshake meme: 44th President's sendoff of USA Olympic men's basketball team goes viral

David Suggs

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Barack Obama-Key and Peele handshake meme: 44th President's sendoff of USA Olympic men's basketball team goes viral image

Despite being out of office for 12 years, Barack Obama still brings an almost mythical aura to U.S. sporting circles. That becomes especially evident during international competitions, most recently the Olympics.

The 44th president is a noted hoops aficionado. He proved as much during his latest public outing when he was wheeled out to wish the U.S. men's basketball team good luck on its endeavor in this year's Paris Games.

Obama made his visit to Sin City a memorable one, delivering a love letter of sorts to the LeBron James and Stephen Curry-led side. Before doing so, he recreated one of his classic-isms, immortalized in a famous Key and Peele skit you've probably seen at this point.

Here's what you need to know about Obama, Key and Peele, and the bonds that group the unlikely pairing together.

Barack Obama-Key and Peele handshake meme

Obama greeted the American team with the most simple of gestures: a handshake.

However, the handshakes he offered to team personnel varied widely depending on who he interacted with.

For ballplayers Anthony Edwards, Stephen Curry, LeBron James, and Anthony Davis, Obama engaged in a more casual and colloquial form of dap. His salutes were adorned with hugs and other ornamental stylings.

The same couldn't be said about Obama's interactions with the team's coaching staff. Mark Few, Erik Spoelstra, and Steve Kerr weren't afforded the same level of embrace from the former president. Instead, they received a more formalized handshake. What it didn't have in flash, it made up for with effectiveness.

The moment was eerily reminiscent of a sketch famed comedians Key and Peele penned more than a decade ago, one which saw the comedians portray how Obama's interactions change depending on the race of the person he's interacting with. When talking shop with white people, Obama tends to put on a more "formal" persona. When he's sharing a space with Black people, he can appear to let loose a little bit.

The reactions came fast and furious:

Call it code-switching. Call it co-optation. However you slice it, Obama tends to cut a different figure depending on the nature of who is around him.

Wednesday was simply the latest example of the phenomenon taking place, this time on a grand stage.

David Suggs

David Suggs Photo

David Suggs is a content producer at The Sporting News. A long-suffering Everton, Wizards and Commanders fan, he has learned to get used to losing over the years. In his free time, he enjoys skateboarding (poorly), listening to the likes of Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and D’Angelo, and penning short journal entries.