There are certain luxuries that one gets as the reigning champion of any of the major sports leagues. Chief among those is the respect and adulation of fans, but also athletes can get access to certain spaces that they might not have previously.
Look at the Golden State Warriors, your NBA champions. Klay Thompson has been not only to China but also was the Grand Marshal of the IndyCar race in Sonoma. Kevin Durant went back home to Maryland to celebrate his title, and chose to clap back at his Twitter haters, whether it be on his account or a burner Twitter account. Stephen Curry had a blast, traveling and visiting Korea.
However, there is one place Curry has decided not to go: The White House. The only unanimous NBA MVP told media on Friday that he wasn’t going to the White House if the invitation was extended. Curry told the media throng that his views hadn’t changed since he initially made the statement a few months ago.
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
Easily the most forceful answer at Warriors Media Day on the White House decision has come from Steph Curry pic.twitter.com/01av461eCZ
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) September 22, 2017
“By acting and not going, hopefully that will inspire some change into what we tolerate in this country,” said Curry. “What is accepted and what we turn a blind eye toward. It’s just not the act of not going, there are things on the back end that you have to push that message into action.”
GM Bob Myers threw a bit of cold water on the situation, stating that the team as a whole hadn’t made a collective decision on whether or not the team would go. Where this complicates matters is that Durant had previously said that he had not intention on going, and veteran Andre Iguodala had also commented that he had no intention of going to the White House as well.
Curry publicly stating his intentions on not visiting the White House adds another headline to the growing list for the defending NBA Champions. Between Kevin Durant’s Twitter antics, Klay Thompson being Klay Thompson and now this, Golden State is entering the season with a lot of distractions for the 2017-18 season. For the Warriors’ sake, one can hope that they can block out the noise and be able to successfully defend their title, or else the noise is only going to get louder.
