NFL: We're Not Going to Promote ObamaCare

The latest political skirmish over ObamaCare comes in the unlikeliest of places: the world of sports. As in, the NFL has found itself compelled to issue a statement saying it doesn't plan to help the White House promote the plan. How did it come to this? As Talking Points Memo explains, it started when health chief Kathleen Sebelius suggested earlier this week that the Obama administration would enlist the help of the NFL and its star athletes to spread the word about the coming changes.

That prompted top Senate Republicans to write a letter to the NFL, Major League Baseball, the NHL, and other leagues strongly suggesting that they butt out because ObamaCare is characterized by such "divisiveness and persistent unpopularity," reports the Washington Post. The NFL's response? "We currently have no plans to engage in this area and have had no substantive contact with the administration" about the new law, says a spokesman. The NHL and MLB also said they had no plans to help. The flap speaks to the coming PR war ahead of the law's 2014 rollout, notes the Post. (More NFL stories.)