U bum! Trump’s comments on anthem, Curry draw fire
SOMERSET, New Jersey — U.S. President Donald Trump doubled down on denouncing protests by NFL players and rescinded NBA star Stephen Curry’s White House invitation on Saturday, a series of tweets that quickly inflamed football and basketball stars and even prompted LeBron James to call the president a “bum.”
Trump started by announcing that Curry, the immensely popular two-time MVP for the Golden State Warriors, would not be welcome at the White House for the commemorative visit traditionally made by championship teams. Later, Trump reiterated what he said at a rally in Alabama the previous night that NFL players who kneel for the U.S. anthem should be fired.
The Warriors said it was made clear to them that they were not welcome at the White House. They said that when they go to Washington this season they will instead “celebrate equality, diversity and inclusion — the values that we embrace as an organization.”
Curry had said he did not want to go to the White House anyway, but the Warriors had not made a collective decision before Saturday.
“U bum! StephenCurry30 already said he ain’t going!” James tweeted in a clear message to the president — a post that Twitter officials said was quickly shared many more times than any other he has sent. “So therefore ain’t no invite. Going to White House was a great honour until you showed up!”
Warriors general manager Bob Myers said Saturday he was surprised by the invitation being pulled.
“The White House visit should be something that is celebrated,” Myers said. “So we want to go to Washington, D.C., and do something to commemorate kind of who we are as an organization. Instead of looking backward, we want to look forward.”
Added Warriors coach Steve Kerr, after his team’s first practice of the season: “These are not normal times.”
Trump’s latest entry into the intersection of sports and politics started in Alabama on Friday night, when he said NFL players who refused to stand for The StarSpangled Banner are exhibiting a “total disrespect of our heritage.”
Several NFL players, starting last season with then-San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick, have either knelt, sat or raised fists during the anthem to protest police treatment of blacks and social injustice.
“That’s a total disrespect of everything that we stand for,” Trump said, encouraging owners to act. On Saturday, he echoed that stance.
“If a player wants the privilege of making millions of dollars in the NFL, or other leagues, he or she should not be allowed to disrespect our Great American Flag (or Country) and should stand for the National Anthem,” Trump wrote in afternoon tweets. “If not, YOU’RE FIRED. Find something else to do!”
Richard Sherman of the Seattle Seahawks said the president’s behaviour is “unacceptable and needs to be addressed.” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell strongly backed his league’s players, calling Trump’s words “divisive.”
Warriors forward Draymond Green said the good news was that Golden State won’t have to talk about going to the White House again — unless they win another title during the Trump presidency.
“Michelle Obama said it best,” Green said. “She said: ‘They go low. We go high.’ ”
Even retired players took to the keyboard. Former Laker great Kobe Bryant tweeted Saturday that a president “whose words inspire dissension and hatred can’t possibly ‘Make America Great Again.’ ”