Donald Trump Says He's Withdrawn Stephen Curry's White House Invitation
September 23, 2017United States President Donald Trump said Saturday morning he's withdrawing an invitation for Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry to visit the White House to celebrate the team's NBA championship.
On Friday, Curry was asked about the potential trip and he told reporters: "I don't want to go." Trump responded on social media:
The Warriors released a statement on the president's comments:
Mark Medina of the Mercury News provided Curry's response to Trump's tweet:
National Basketball Players Association president Michele Roberts told Curry to be proud of the move:
Curry's wife, Ayesha, used the moment to ask people to donate to a good cause:
Warriors teammate Draymond Green explained Friday the Dubs were still planning to hold a discussion within the team about whether to attend or skip the proceedings.
"We're going to have a discussion to pretty much take the temperature of everyone. We're going to decide what is best, whatever we think is best for us," Green told reporters. "It may not be the most popular thing or whatever we decide. But at the end of the day, we are the ones to decide to attend. It's only right that we all decide together. It's not just one person's choice. It'll be between all of us. We'll come up with a decision and then go from there."
In May, Golden State head coach Steve Kerr spoke out about Trump's leadership qualities, per Chris Ballardβ of Sports Illustrated.
"Frankly, I think it's why Trump couldn't be more ill-suited to be president, because he's a blowhard," he said. "You don't see some of the qualities you talk about, the resilience, the ability to communicate, the compassion. None of that. But in the old days, a lot of great coaches who maybe didn't have those, there was still a fiber there, whatever it was. To be a great leader, there have to be some qualities in there.
"Has anyone ever thought that Donald Trump was a great leader?"
Discussion about attending the White House visit also arose when the Chicago Cubs and New England Patriots went in June and August respectively.
It's not an issue that's isolated to the Trump administration, however. Athletes have skipped the White House visit for a variety of reasons for decades.