LeBron James and Stephen Curry are two different kinds of great basketball players. One is mostly power. The other mostly touch. And they are pitted against each other in the NBA finals.
Yet on one thing they are united: They absolutely do not care about going to the White House to see Donald Trump, an invite customarily extended to the finals winner.
“I know no matter who wins this series, no one wants the invite anyway,” LeBron told reporters when asked what he thought about Trump rescinding his invite to the National Football League champion Philadelphia Eagles. “It won’t be Golden State or Cleveland going,” he said, referring to the two teams.
“I agree with ‘Bron,” Curry said later. “I’m pretty sure the way we handled things last year, we’ll stay consistent with that.” After the Warriors won last year, the team hedged on whether to visit the White House, which led Trump to cancel the invite. Instead, the team spent the day with local kids from Washington, DC and went to an African-American history museum.
Trump has had his spats with the NFL over the issue of black players kneeling during the national anthem to protest police brutality and racial violence, which he views as unpatriotic. And while some in the NFL agree with the president, the NBA as a whole appears to be opposed to him. LeBron in particular has used his reputation and platform to criticize Trump, calling him a “bum” and later defending it.