The long journey of the Warriors White House story ends on Tuesday, and it will end at a Smithsonian. With the Golden State Warriors in Washington to face the Wizards, we have finally arrived at the endpoint of a story that began back in June when the Dubs won the NBA title. Early reports indicated that the team would not visit Donald Trump’s White House if they were invited.
Though they never officially were, Stephen Curry’s admission he would not attend if invited made Trump “uninvite him” and kick off a seemingly-endless series of stories about Trump and athletes. LeBron James called the president a “bum” over the incident and many other athletes were critical of the president and police brutality against people of color.
Last week reports emerged of the Warriors alternate plans, and that they would involve children. And on Tuesday, reporters learned that the Warriors would visit the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, which opened in 2016. According to the reports the trip will be especially significant to Kevin Durant, as the children will be from his hometown of Seat Pleasant, Maryland.
Golden State Warriors will celebrate their championship in D.C. today by touring the African American Museum with students from Seat Pleasant, the hometown of Kevin Durant.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) February 27, 2018
Tim Bontemps of the Washington Post talked to Klay Thompson about the visit, who stressed it is not a political move by the Warriors.
“We’re not going to politicize anything,” Thompson said. “We’re going to hang out with some kids, and take them to the African American Museum, and hopefully teach them some things we learned along the way, and life lessons, and hopefully give them some great memories.”
But there is something fitting and powerful about this saga ending in the halls of this Smithsonian. The museum itself was a long struggle just to get it open, filled with lengthy debate about its design, meaning and purpose. Inside, though, the museum is a moving and powerful reminder of African American struggle on this continent.
So, right: no politics. But I’m sure the kids and Warriors players will have plenty to talk about on Tuesday.
