Durant says no to White House visit.
With Trump as president, Warriors star says he will not go if team is invited
Warriors star Kevin Durant says he will not visit the White House if the NBA champions are invited.
The reason? President Donald J. Trump.
“Nah, I won’t do that,” Durant said when asked by ESPN’s Chris Haynes about attending a White House celebration for the Warriors. “I don’t respect who’s in office right now.”
The Finals MVP spent time with Haynes explaining his stance on a day his hometown of Seat Pleasant, Maryland, celebrated Kevin Durant Day.
The Warriors are scheduled to play at the Washington Wizards on Feb. 28.
“I don’t agree with what (Trump) agrees with, so my voice is going to be heard by not doing that,” Durant said. “That’s just me personally, but if I know my guys well enough, they’ll all agree with me.”
Stephen Curry and Andre Iguodala have each expressed similar
stances regarding a White House visit. Coach Steve Kerr wanted to make sure that the players gave the issue a lot of thought before deciding on whether to skip such a visit, which is traditional for American sports teams coming off championships. The Warriors have not yet received an invitation from the White House.
Durant seems to have thought a lot about it.
“I just wanted to sit back and analyze everything and gather my thoughts,” he told Haynes. “I wanted to say something immediately, but I definitely want to be the voice of where I come from and people who have come from my neighborhood and deal with oppression.
“I’m representing a lot of people. As far as what’s going on in our country, for one as an athlete, you have to commend Colin Kaepernick, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, CP3 (Chris Paul), Dwyane Wade for starting that conversation last year. Russell Westbrook also said something in his speech. A lot of guys with platforms have drove the conversation in a good direction. And what’s going on in Charlottesville, that was unfathomable.”
The hatred on display in Charlottesville reportedly led Durant to feel “like we took a turn for the worse.”
“It all comes from who is in the administration,” Durant continued. “It comes from the top — leadership trickles down to the rest of us. So, you know, if we have someone in office that doesn’t care about all people, then we won’t go anywhere as a country. In my opinion, until we get him out of here, we won’t see any progress.”