| Politics
The speculation began before the Warriors even clinched the championship in June. Would the team accept an invitation to the White House if they won the title?
While many team members signaled they would rather not go — during the season and after the championship was won — the final answer came, fittingly, via Twitter on the first day of training camp.
President Trump sent out this missive in the early morning hours: “Going to the White House is considered a great honor for a championship team. Stephen Curry is hesitating, therefore invitation is withdrawn!”
The day prior, during media day, the Warriors’ two-time Most Valuable Player had come right out and said when asked whether he wanted to go to the White House: “I don’t want to go.”
And that was enough to trigger the president.
It’s pretty apparent that the Warriors had never gotten their customary invitation in the first place, but they still had plans for a team meeting to discuss a possible trip to the nation’s capital. In fact, they were scheduled to do so on the morning Trump sent out his tweet. That meeting never happened, but the players still had plenty to say about the situation.
Curry: “It’s a surreal thing, for sure. I don’t know why he needs to target certain individuals rather than others. I have an idea of why, but it’s kind of beneath a leader of a country to go that route. It’s not what leaders do.”
Backup center David West said, “When it comes to us, we’re going to be mature about it. We’ve dealt with the worst in our history of this country. We know we’re in a fight. We’re going to continue to fight for our right to be people, to be human beings.”
Head coach Steve Kerr eloquently stated why the team hesitated in the first place, long before Trump finished the conversation.
“Because of the differences in this country, the president made it really, really difficult for us to honor that institution,” said Kerr. “Our differences in terms of our team and our organization’s values are so dramatically different. I’m talking in terms of inclusion and civil discourse and dignity. It’s hard for us every day, when we’re seeing the things he’s saying.”
Instead of discussing Trump, the team began talking about what they will do instead of visiting the White House when they travel to Washington, D.C., to play the Wizards in February. A trip to the National Museum of African American History and Culture was one of the options mentioned.
Whichever route they take, the Warriors stance put them squarely in the center of a highly politicized sports environment, and they clearly don’t mind speaking their minds. From the kneeling players in the NFL, to the vocal stars in the NBA, the intersection of sports and society is getting crowded.
The Golden State Warriors are right in the middle of things, as usual.