SOMERSET, N.J. â President Donald Trump denounced protests by NFL players and rescinded a White House invitation for NBA champion Stephen Curry in a two-day rant that targeted top professional athletes and brought swift condemnation Saturday from league executives and star players alike.
Wading into thorny issues of race and politics, Trumpâs comments in a Friday night speech and a series of Saturday tweets drew sharp responses from some of the nationâs top athletes, with LeBron James calling the president a âbum.â Hours later, Major League Baseball saw its first player take a knee during the national anthem.
Trump started by announcing that Curry, the 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: âGoing to the White House is considered a great honor for a championship team. Stephen Curry is hesitating, therefore invitation is withdrawn!â
Later, Trump reiterated what he said at a rally in Alabama the previous night â that NFL players who kneel for the national anthem should be fired, and called on NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to tell them to stand.
The Warriors said it was made clear to them that they were not welcome at the White House.
NBA Warriors coach Steve Kerr says political differences can be put aside during White House visits. His comments came in response to President Trumpâs tweeted dis-invite of team star Stephen Curry. (Sept. 23)
Curry had said he did not want to go anyway, but the Warriors had not made a collective decision before Saturday â and had planned to discuss it in the morning before the presidentâs tweet, to which coach Steve Kerr said : âNot surprised. He was going to break up with us before we could break up with him.â
Others had far stronger reactions.
âU bum @StephenCurry30 already said he ainât going!â James tweeted in a clear message to the president â a post that Twitter officials said was quickly shared many more times than any other heâs sent. âSo therefore ainât no invite. Going to White House was a great honor until you showed up!â
Curry appreciated Jamesâ strong stance.
âThatâs a pretty strong statement,â Curry said. âI think itâs bold, itâs courageous for any guy to speak up, let alone a guy that has as much to lose as LeBron does and other notable figures in the league. We all have to kind of stand as one the best we can.â
Curry added that he doesnât believe Trump ârespects the majority of Americans in this country.â
James also released a video Saturday, saying Trump has tried to divide the country. âHeâs now using sports as the platform to try to divide us,â James said. âWe all know how much sports brings us together. ... Itâs not something I can be quiet about.â
The Warriors said that when they go to Washington this season they will instead âcelebrate equality, diversity and inclusion â the values that we embrace as an organization.â General manager Bob Myers said he was surprised by the invitation being pulled, and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said he was disappointed that the Warriors wonât be at the White House.
âThe White House visit should be something that is celebrated,â Myers said. âSo we want to go to Washington, D.C., and do something to commemorate kind of who we are as an organization, what we feel, what we represent and at the same time spend our energy on that. Instead of looking backward, we want to look forward.â
Added Kerr after his teamâs first practice of the season, âThese are not normal times.â
Bruce Maxwell, an African-American player for the Oakland Athletics, became the first major league baseball player to kneel during the national anthem. Teammate Mark Canha, who is white, put his right hand on one of Maxwellâs shoulders during Saturdayâs anthem. The Athletics released a statement saying they ârespect and support all of our playersâ constitutional rights and freedom of expression.â
In New York Cityâs Central Park, musician Stevie Wonder declared, âTonight, I take a knee for America. Both knees!â as he knelt on stage at the Global Citizen Festival.
As a candidate and as president, Trumpâs approach has at times seemed to inflame racial tensions in a deeply divided country while emboldening groups long in the shadows. Little more than a month ago, Trump came under fire for his response to a white supremacistsâ protest in Charlottesville, Virginia. Trump also pardoned Joe Arpaio, the former sheriff of Arizonaâs Maricopa County, who had been found guilty of defying a judgeâs order to stop racially profiling Latinos.
Trumpâs 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 âThe Star-Spangled Bannerâ are exhibiting a âtotal disrespect of our heritage.â
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. Last week at NFL games, four players sat or knelt during the anthem, and two raised fists while others stood by the protesters in support.
âThatâs a total disrespect of everything that we stand for,â Trump said, encouraging owners to act. He added, âWouldnât you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, youâd say, âGet that son of a bitch off the field right now. Out! Heâs fired.â
On Saturday, Trump echoed his stance.
âIf 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,â Trump tweeted. âIf not, YOUâRE FIRED. Find something else to do!â
There are 14 NFL games Sunday, including one in London. And how players act during the anthem will certainly be closely watched at each of those games.
âYou have a chance to do something really great,â music mogul Sean âDiddyâ Combs told players in a tweet.
Tampa Bay receiver Desean Jackson, whose team plays at Minnesota, tweeted: âI definitely will be making a statement no disrespect to our military of service But we have to stick together as people !! Unity.â
Trump has enjoyed strong support from NFL owners, with at least seven of them donating $1 million each to Trumpâs inaugural committee. They include New England Patriots owner Bob Kraft, whom Trump considers a friend.
Goodell strongly backed the players and criticized Trump for âan unfortunate lack of respect for the NFLâ while several team owners issued similar statements. New York Giants owners John Mara and Steve Tisch said the comments were inappropriate and offensive. Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross, who has supported the players who have knelt, said the country âneeds unifying leadership right now, not more divisiveness,â and San Francisco 49ers CEO Jed York ripped Trumpâs comments as âcallous.â
Trump was undeterred. Hours after Goodellâs comments, Trump said the commissioner had âput out a statement trying to justify the total disrespect certain players show to our country. Tell them to stand!â
Plenty of other current and former stars from across sports weighed in Saturday, as did the National Basketball Players Association, which defended its membersâ âfree speech rightsâ against those seeking to âstifleâ them.
Trump also bemoaned what he called a decline in violence in football, noting that itâs ânot the same gameâ because players are now either penalized or thrown out of games for aggressive tackles.
âNo man or woman should ever have to choose a job that forces them to surrender their rights,â said DeMaurice Smith, the NFL Players Association executive director. âNo worker nor any athlete, professional or not, should be forced to become less than human when it comes to protecting their basic health and safety.â
Trump has met with some championship teams already in his first year in office.
Clemson visited the White House this year after winning the College Football Playoff, some members of the New England Patriots went after the Super Bowl victory and the Chicago Cubs went to the Oval Office in June to commemorate their World Series title. The Cubs also had the larger and more traditional visit with President Barack Obama in January, four days before the Trump inauguration.
North Carolina, the reigning NCAA menâs basketball champion, said Saturday it will not visit the White House this season. The Tar Heels cited scheduling conflicts.
Warriors forward Draymond Green said the good news was that Golden State wonât have to talk about going to the White House again â unless they win another title during the Trump presidency.
âMichelle Obama said it best,â Green said.
Reynolds reported from Miami, and AP sports writer Janie McCauley in Oakland, California contributed to this story