Golden State Warriors skipping White House to spend time with DC kids
The Golden State Warriors are still coming to the nation’s capital, even though Donald Trump tweeted they weren’t welcome at the White House.
On February 27, the NBA champions will go to Washington, D.C., where the players are reportedly planning to go on a private tour of an undisclosed location, along with several local kids.
The location for their activity has not been released, and the event will not be open to the press, because the Warriors want to have a private moment with the kids they want to inspire.
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“It’s their championship. They got disinvited to the White House, so it’s up to them what they wanted to do. So they made their plans,” head coach Steve Kerr told ESPN. “I want the players to have a good day and to do something positive and to enjoy what they’re doing.”
Curry vs Trump
During Golden State’s media day last year, Steph Curry said in no uncertain that he does not want to take part in the White House ceremony celebrating their championship win.
While Curry admitted he wasn’t speaking for the whole team, he said, “I don’t want to go, that’s kind of the nucleus of my belief.”
“[I]t’s not just me going to the White House,” Curry stated. “If it was, this would be a pretty short conversation.”
Steph Curry was asked what his message was in choosing to not attend.
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“That we don’t stand for basically what our President has—the things that he’s said and the things that he hasn’t said in the right times, that we won’t stand for it,” Curry said. “And by acting and not going, hopefully that will inspire some change when it comes to what we tolerate in this country and what is accepted and what we turn a blind eye to. It’s not just the act of not going there. There are things you have to do on the back end to actually push that message into motion.”
President Trump saw the coverage of Steph Curry’s comments and clearly took offense. Trump tweeted, “Going to the White House is considered a great honor for a championship team. Stephen Curry is hesitating, therefore invitation is withdrawn!”
This led to LeBron James tweeting back at Trump, posting, “U bum [Curry] already said he ain’t going! So therefore ain’t no invite.”
James went on to say, “Going to the White House was a great honor until you showed up.”
Focusing on what matters
While D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi both invited the Golden State Warriors to come visit during their trip, the team declined because they reportedly didn’t want to look like they were politicizing their trip.
“At the end of the day, it’s about us celebrating a championship, so there’s no point in getting into the political stuff and all that,” forward Draymond Green told ESPN. “It’s about something we did great. Why make it about [politics]?”
Prior to Trump’s tweet revoking the Warriors’ invitation, the players had been set to vote on whether they would skip their White House visit.
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It’s likely they wouldn’t have gone anyway, considering the fact that players like Steph Curry and Kevin Durant haven’t been quite about their opinions on President Trump.
“We’re not trying to divide and separate this country,” Curry said at the time of Trump’s tweet. “We’re trying to bring everybody together and speak about love and togetherness and equality.”
