The stick to sports crowd is having a tough time making their argument these days as Donald Trump continues to jump into sports as often as he feels necessary. Like it or not, politics and sports are connected now when the president refers to an NFL player a “son of a bitch,” demands ESPN hosts be fired, and well, calls out one of the best basketball players in the NBA.
There has been a lot of talk about what the Warriors are going to do in a Trump White House. Traditionally teams visit the White House after winning a title, but as soon as the day after beating the Cavs, there were rumors that Golden State would politely decline.
Steph Curry went so far as moving past “politely decline” earlier in the week.
Steph Curry said his opinion on White House visit hasn't changed. He's said before he wouldn't go pic.twitter.com/7ZqTKshSzc
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) September 22, 2017
The full quote is below:
“That we don’t stand for basically what our president has, the things that he’s said and the things that he hasn’t said at the right times, that we won’t stand for it. By acting and not going, hopefully that will inspire some change when it comes to what we tolerate in this country, what is accepted, and what we turn a blind eye toward. It’s not just the act of not going, there are things you have to do in the back end that you have to push that message into motion. You can talk about all the different personalities that have said and done things – from Kaepernick to what happened with Michael Bennett to all sorts of examples of what has gone on in our country that has led to change. We’re all trying to do what we can using our platforms, using our opportunities to shed light on that. That’s kind of where I stand on that. I don’t think us going to the White house will miraculously make everything better, but this is my opportunity to voice that.”
As is his way, Trump responded:
Going to the White House is considered a great honor for a championship team.Stephen Curry is hesitating,therefore invitation is withdrawn!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 23, 2017
This comes off like the old “you can’t quit, you’re fired” trope, which is right on brand for Trump, honestly.
There’s a definite divide between the NBA (including noteworthy reps like Steve Kerr, Gregg Popovich, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Steph Curry, among others) and the administration, and the league has openly expressed that it wants its players to be activists. This won’t be the last time Trump addresses someone in the NBA speaking out against him – he can’t help himself.
As for Curry, if the 3-1 jokes didn’t get to him, a tweet from the President sure won’t.
