Trump gets athletes offside
President Trump triggered a backlash from the US professional sports world after withdrawing a White House invitation to NBA champions Golden State Warriors.
PRESIDENT Donald Trump triggered a backlash from the US professional sports world yesterday after withdrawing a White House invitation to the NBA champion Golden State Warriors and condemning NFL players protesting the national anthem.
A day after Mr Trump had decried activist, mostly African American National Football League players as “sons of bitches” for kneeling or sitting during renditions of The StarSpangled Banner, the US leader turned his ire to basketball’s reigning champions and their top player Stephen Curry.
Curry said Friday he would not attend a White House reception if his team was invited.
Curry’s remarks followed similar comments last month by teammate Kevin Durant taking aim at Mr Trump’s response to racially charged violence in Charlottesville.
Mr Trump responded with a Twitter salvo.
“Going to the White House is considered a great honour for a championship team. Stephen Curry is hesitating, therefore invitation is withdrawn!” he wrote.
Mr Trump’s outburst drew a stinging response from across the NBA, with Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James among the first to weigh in.
“U bum @StephenCurry already said he ain’t going!” James wrote on Twitter. “So therefore ain’t no invite. Going to White House was a great honour until you showed up.”
Curry later spoke appreciatively of James’s words of support. “That’s a pretty strong statement,” he said. “I think it’s bold, it’s courageous.”
The Warriors, meanwhile, said they would plan their own trip to Washington instead of going to the White House, making the visit a celebration of “equality, diversity and inclusion”.
Mr Trump’s spat with Curry
GOING TO WHITE HOUSE WAS A GREAT HONOUR UNTIL YOU SHOWED UP LEBRON JAMES
and the Warriors came less than 24 hours after the President raged against NFL players who have protested the national anthem.
The NFL has seen a surge in activism by players since former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick last year refused to stand for the national anthem that precedes each game in protest at law enforcement brutality.
In a tirade in Alabama, Mr Trump said players who protested during the anthem should be fired.
“It’s a shame and disgrace when you have the President of the US calling citizens of the country sons of bitches,” Minnesota Vikings player Bishop Sankey wrote on Twitter.