Durant: I will not be going to White House

Kevin Durant has a simple message if he and the Warriors are invited to the White House.

“Nah, I won’t do it,” Durant told ESPN on Thursday. “I don’t respect who’s in office right now.”

Durant, who was named Finals MVP as his Golden State Warriors won the NBA Championship in June, is part of arguably the most socially conscious sports team in the U.S. Stephen Curry and Steve Kerr have spoken passionately and often about their dislike for President Trump and his policies.

And that was before the events in Charlottesville last weekend in which white supremacists clashed with protesters, which ultimately led to the death of one of the protesters, Heather Heyer, who was killed by a car allegedly driven James Alex Fields, Jr.

And it was also before Trump stated that “many sides” were to blame for what happened in Virginia. The comments caused a firestorm, which Trump has not backed down from. Durant blames Trump for legitimizing white supremacists.

“He’s definitely driving it,” Durant told ESPN. “I feel ever since he’s got into office, or since he ran for the presidency, our country has been so divided, and it’s not a coincidence. When (Barack) Obama was in office, things were looking up. We had so much hope in our communities where I come from because we had a black president, and that was a first.

“So to see that and to be where we are now, it just felt like we took a turn for the worse, man. It all comes from who is in the administration.” The Warriors, who have not been officially invited to the White House, play in Washington on Feb. 28 vs. the Wizards.