Trump ends Obama's 'March Madness' legacy, will not fill out NCAA tournament bracket

President Trump will not fill out an NCAA tournament bracket this year with ESPN.

Former president Barack Obama made the March tradition a staple event each year of his presidency, but Trump has backed away from that practice, so says ESPN.

According to The Washington Post, ESPN reached out to Trump administration staff extending an invitation for the president to fill out a bracket while on camera -- as was custom with President Obama.

The network recently received word, though, that Trump was passing on the media opportunity.

An ESPN spokesman announced the discussion between the network and president, saying, "We expressed our interest to the White House in continuing the presidential bracket. They have respectfully declined."

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White House spokeswoman Hope Hicks also commented on the decision in a statement to the Post.

"We look forward to working with ESPN on another opportunity in the near future," said Hicks.

While TV executives were likely expecting a potential rejection from the new president, it is shocking that Trump -- who formerly worked in the TV business on "The Apprentice" -- would turn down a public appearance on television.

President Obama filled out a bracket for both the men's and women's tournaments each year, and two of those brackets now reside with the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.

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