The NBA champions set to make historic Trump boycott
They have spent the entire season criticising President Donald Trump, and now it appears the Golden State Warriors are about to snub him in sensational fashion.
As is customary in the United States, teams who achieve sporting excellence are honoured at the White House, with the Warriors expected to receive an invite after winning the NBA finals on Tuesday.
But Golden State – who beat the LeBron James-led Cleveland 4-1 in a best-of-seven-match series – appear likely to turn down the chance to meet with Mr Trump, who turned 71 on Wednesday (AEST).
Coach Steve Kerr and the team’s star players have regularly spoken out against Mr Trump since he became President, and speculation swirled that the Warriors had already rejected a White House visit.
Golden State denied that in a brief statement, saying “today is all about celebrating our championship.
“We have not received an invitation to the White House, but will make those decisions when and if necessary.”
But even though the Warriors are yet to make a decision, it seems many of their players have.
When asked if he wanted to go, veteran player Andre Iguodala told newspaper USA Today, “hell nah”.
“Maybe [Mr Trump] doesn’t [ask us] and we don’t go, or we don’t say anything and make a big deal of it, and he doesn’t make a big deal of it and we go our separate ways,” he said.
“Y’all might write about it. I might call him and say, ‘If they ask, just say our schedules conflicted’.
“And then if y’all write something, we’ll say ‘Fake News’.”
Iguodala said that the Warriors would ultimately follow the decision made by star player Stephen Curry.
“We’re going to do what our leader [Curry] does,” he said.
“I think we handle [the situation] when it gets there. I mean, it may be different. There might be somebody different in [office].
“That’s a realistic thing to say though, right? So you don’t know what’s going to happen.”
When asked about a representative from his sponsor, Under Armour, calling Mr Trump a “great asset”, Curry hit the headlines earlier this season.
“I agree with that description if you remove the ‘et’ from asset,” he famously told San Jose newspaper, The Mercury News.
Coach Steve Kerr has previously described Mr Trump as a “blowhard” and that he was “ill-suited” to be President, while back-up player David West said the President set a shocking example for kids.
“We try to talk our young people out of being bullies,” he said.
“We try to talk our young men out of disrespecting women. We try to talk our young people into being accepting of other people’s opinions and other people’s walks of life.
“He is the complete opposite of that.”