Steph Curry not happy with Kaepernick’s exclusion from SI cover.
Guard notes that ex-49er is absent from SI’s cover featuring protests
The substance of President Donald Trump’s rapid-fire tweets has continuously irked Warriors guard Stephen Curry.
So did Sports Illustrated’s recent cover that featured protesting athletes, except for former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
The cover featured Curry locking arms with Cavaliers star LeBron James and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. Behind them, Warriors coach Steve Kerr stood behind WNBA star Candace Parker. The cover did not feature Kaepernick, however, despite being the first NFL player last season to sit and kneel during the national an-
them.
“I thought that was terrible. It’s kind of capitalizing on the hoopla, the media and all that nonsense,” Curry said after practice on Wednesday. “This is about the real people that are understanding exactly what is going on and who’s really been active and vocal and truly making a difference. If you don’t have Kaepernick front and center on that, something’s wrong.”
Curry has become front and center after he repeated last Friday he would decline a White House invitation to celebrate the Warriors’ 2017 NBA championship. Although the Warriors insisted they would still meet as a team before deciding officially, Trump withdrew an invitation that was never formally sent.
Two days after Trump used vulgar language to describe NFL players who sit or kneel during the national anthem, an increased number of NFL players participated in the gesture. Trump has argued those protests disrespect the American flag and the military. Curry stressed that athletes are protesting racial inequality.
“That’s the genesis of our stance. If you watched us all last year for us, we stood during the national anthem,” Curry said. “Certain teams locked arms and had demonstrations. The NFL has taken a different approach. It’s about the message. It’s not just about the act.”
Curry added, “it’s not about disrespecting anything about the flag or the anthem.”
While the NFL allows players to sit or kneel during the anthem, the NBA requires players, coaches and trainers to stand and line up along the sideline or foul line. Last season, several NBA teams locked arms during that time.
What will the Warriors do when they host the Denver Nuggets in their exhibition opener Saturday at the Oracle?
“We haven’t talked about it as a team. But I don’t know,” Curry said. “We understand exactly there will be all eyes on us when we go out there before the game on Saturday. As our organization said, everyone has the right to do what they want to do and voice what they want to voice and stand for what they want to stand for. That will all show.”
Meanwhile, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi tweeted “the offer still stands” after she and Rep. Barbara Lee invited them shortly after the Warriors won the 2017 NBA title. Lee added in a statement, “we will welcome them with open arms.”
Though Kerr said “everything is on the table,” the Warriors do not have definitive plans for when they play the Wizards in Washington on Feb. 28.
“It’s all about spreading love and support,” Curry said. “I thank Nancy for making that gesture. Obviously we’ll figure out what we’re going to do exactly in February. Hopefully we can rally a lot of different people from a lot of different backgrounds with different situations to share the same message.”
• Unlike several NCAA coaches, Kerr has a good thing going for himself. He coaches a championship team. And he hardly has to worry about scandals, while assistant coaches at Arizona, Auburn, Oklahoma State and USC were arrested in a bribery scheme.
“There’s a reason I coach in the NBA. I never wanted to be a college coach,” Kerr said. “I don’t immerse myself in that stuff. The NBA is very pure. We don’t want to make apologies or concessions about what we’re doing. We’re just playing basketball. It’s a business. And the NCAA obviously has lots of things to figure out on many levels who they are and what they’re doing.”