At a time when many are telling athletes to “stick to sports,” the President definitely isn’t sticking to politics.
Following last night’s strong comments about the NFL, both as to anthem protests and the lack of old-school violence, Donald Trump has rescinded the invitation extended to the Golden State Warriors to visit the White House.
“Going to the White House is considered a great honor for a championship team,” Trump tweeted within the last hour. “Stephen Curry is hesitating, therefore invitation is withdrawn!”
It’s a surprise the invitation ever was extended. The Warriors had been ambivalent from the get-go. Coach Steve Kerr had called President Trump a “blowhard” and “ill-suited” for the office, and Curry had responded to a claim from UnderArmour CEO Kevin Plank that Trump is a “real asset” to the nation by saying, “I agree with that description, if you remove the ‘et’.”
Last month, Warriors star Kevin Durant said he won’t go to the White House, explaining that “I don’t respect who’s in the office right now” and adding that “if I know my guys well enough, they’ll all agree with me.”
And so now comes the un-vitation, which possibly is an effort to avoid the indignity of swinging the door open for the Warriors and having no one walk through it.
Why is this relevant on an NFL news outlet? Because come February another Super Bowl champion will be crowned, and it’s possible that one or more of the key players will express similar ambivalence about visiting the White House, especially after last night’s verbal assault from the man who lives there. Which means it’s possible that the President will un-invite -- or never invite at all -- the NFL champions to pay him a visit.