Will ANY NBA team visit the white house?

[Torgeir Bryn]

Well, at the end of the day, the players can do whatever they want and I wouldn't really care. However, given that most of the players are liberals, I suspect that there is a bit of a double standard on the actions between conservatives and liberals. For example, let's say one of the conservative players from last 8 years refused to go to the White House when Obama was the President. Would the players have viewed this in a compassionate manner? For some reason, I am thinking that this might not have been the case.

So as long as these things are consistent, I don't care what the players do.

You have always had athletes skipping the white house visit. Bird didn't meet Reagan, Jordan skipped Bush sr and Brady snubbed Obama. This president is special though, you would not have the same talk if it was Kasich, Jeb or another conservative in the office.

[mtron929]

Well, at the end of the day, the players can do whatever they want and I wouldn't really care. However, given that most of the players are liberals, I suspect that there is a bit of a double standard on the actions between conservatives and liberals. For example, let's say one of the conservative players from last 8 years refused to go to the White House when Obama was the President. Would the players have viewed this in a compassionate manner? For some reason, I am thinking that this might not have been the case.

So as long as these things are consistent, I don't care what the players do.

You have always had athletes skipping the white house visit. Bird didn't meet Reagan, Jordan skipped Bush sr and Brady snubbed Obama. This president is special though, you would not have the same talk if it was Kasich, Jeb or another conservative in the office.

There is a difference. Brady for example snubbed Obama and Trump. Moreover, Brady in both cases stated that he had other matters (whether true or not). This is far from making a political statement. I think in this context, we are talking about athletes snubbing Trump while making a strong political statement.

[Hello Brooklyn]

I love how athletes aren't allowed to talk about politics, but its totally ok for a Reality TV star to be President.

The line has been blurred. It will never be the same.

He was voted in...if an athlete gets voted in let me know.

Trump has been talking about politics his entire life.

So its ok for him to talk about it when hes President?

But before hes President its not allowed?

Totally makes sense.

[Ganji]

Well, at the end of the day, the players can do whatever they want and I wouldn't really care. However, given that most of the players are liberals, I suspect that there is a bit of a double standard on the actions between conservatives and liberals. For example, let's say one of the conservative players from last 8 years refused to go to the White House when Obama was the President. Would the players have viewed this in a compassionate manner? For some reason, I am thinking that this might not have been the case.

So as long as these things are consistent, I don't care what the players do.

You have always had athletes skipping the white house visit. Bird didn't meet Reagan, Jordan skipped Bush sr and Brady snubbed Obama. This president is special though, you would not have the same talk if it was Kasich, Jeb or another conservative in the office.

There is a difference. Brady for example snubbed Obama and Trump. Moreover, Brady in both cases stated that he had other matters (whether true or not). This is far from making a political statement. I think in this context, we are talking about athletes snubbing Trump while making a strong political statement.

http://nypost.com/2017/04/19/tom-brady-skipping-white-house-to-be-with-mom/

[RIPskaterdude]

Well, at the end of the day, the players can do whatever they want and I wouldn't really care. However, given that most of the players are liberals, I suspect that there is a bit of a double standard on the actions between conservatives and liberals. For example, let's say one of the conservative players from last 8 years refused to go to the White House when Obama was the President. Would the players have viewed this in a compassionate manner? For some reason, I am thinking that this might not have been the case.

So as long as these things are consistent, I don't care what the players do.

You have always had athletes skipping the white house visit. Bird didn't meet Reagan, Jordan skipped Bush sr and Brady snubbed Obama. This president is special though, you would not have the same talk if it was Kasich, Jeb or another conservative in the office.

There is a difference. Brady for example snubbed Obama and Trump. Moreover, Brady in both cases stated that he had other matters (whether true or not). This is far from making a political statement. I think in this context, we are talking about athletes snubbing Trump while making a strong political statement.

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/tom-brady-athletes-skipped-white-house-visit-article-1.2663292

[papidulo]

You have always had athletes skipping the white house visit. Bird didn't meet Reagan, Jordan skipped Bush sr and Brady snubbed Obama. This president is special though, you would not have the same talk if it was Kasich, Jeb or another conservative in the office.

There is a difference. Brady for example snubbed Obama and Trump. Moreover, Brady in both cases stated that he had other matters (whether true or not). This is far from making a political statement. I think in this context, we are talking about athletes snubbing Trump while making a strong political statement.

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/tom-brady-athletes-skipped-white-house-visit-article-1.2663292

Brady didnt necessarily "snub" the Trump White House, he just didnt want to bring the media storm back of him supporting Trump. He snubbed Obama

[papidulo]

Only NBA team I can see visiting the White House is the Spurs, even though Pops has already spoken out against Trump

[chrisab123]

Why would you visit a house that has a confirmed racist in the main seat? Btw his VP has been pushing anti gay bills for decades. He's also spending 3 million a week in taxpayer money to fly to his other White House, Mar-A-Lago. As a Pats fan as well I'm ashamed my team actually had 30 + people go.

[RIPskaterdude]

Why would you visit a house that has a confirmed racist in the main seat? Btw his VP has been pushing anti gay bills for decades. He's also spending 3 million a week in taxpayer money to fly to his other White House, Mar-A-Lago. As a Pats fan as well I'm ashamed my team actually had 30 + people go.

Confirmed racist? Link that confirms this?

[MartinToVaught]

I remember when Tim Thomas (the Bruins' former goalie, not to be confused with the former NBA player) got vilified for snubbing Obama after winning the Stanley Cup because he was an outspoken conservative who disagreed with Obama's views. The media said he was "putting himself above the team" and "choosing the wrong time to make a statement." Some even accused him of breaching his contract by refusing to represent the Bruins in public, making the argument that Obama invited the Boston Bruins as a team, not Tim Thomas as an individual player, so it was not Thomas' place to decline the invite.

I personally don't think Thomas was in the wrong, nor do I think any athlete that snubs Trump is in the wrong. If an athlete disagrees so strongly with the current president that they don't want to do a photo-op with them, that's their choice. But that principle should still apply when the president is a liberal and the athlete is a conservative, just like it does when the president is a conservative and the athlete is a liberal.

[Curmudgeon]

Will any NBA team be invited to the White House?

[warriorschamps]

Good question. I'm pretty sure most of the Cavs wouldn't. Not sure about Golden State. I could see them showing up. San Antonio? Hard to say. Over the last 20 years the San Antonio (Texas) Spurs have become white America's team, so you'd probably expect them to make the trip. But Pop is a liberal guy (liberal moderate) that was so disheartened and passionate after Trump was elected (see below) that I can see him taking a stand and not going. But he's also compassionate and thoughtful so I could also see him arguing that the residence of the White House and The Executive Office of the President of the United States, as symbols, are bigger than any sitting president, and that we shouldn't tarnish the image of those institutions just because of temporary unpopular officeholders. Right?

But who knows? We'll see.

It’s still early and I’m still sick to my stomach. Not basically because the Republicans won or anything, but the disgusting tenor and tone and all the comments that have been xenophobic, homophobic, racist, misogynistic, and I live in that country where half the country ignored all that to elect someone. That’s the scariest part of the whole thing to me.

It’s got nothing to do with the environment and Obamacare and all that other stuff. We live in a country that ignored all those values that we would hold our kids accountable for. They’d be grounded for years if they acted and said the things that have been said in that campaign by Donald Trump. I look at the evangelicals and I wonder, ‘Those values don’t mean anything to them?’

All those values to me are more important than anybody’s skill in business or anything else because it tells who we are and how we want to live and what kind of people we are.

Well I doubt many Warriors players would go. Curry has already called Trump an ass and I've heard Kerr criticize Trump as well. Most folks that don't consider themselves prejudice probably wouldn't go.

[Daddy 801]

They should. It is a beautiful tradition and not going is disrespectful to the country and it also gives a really bad example to the kids.

I don't believe it is a good tradition. I find it "disrespectful" when any president spends time with famous athletes. They have a job to do and it isn't hanging out with Steph Curry at a golf course. Or having the SuperBowl champs hang out. We need politics and sports to move away from each other, not get closer.

I teach my son and students we shouldn't blindly worship authority. The president is a glorified DMV worker. Not someone to look up to. You have to lie, cheat, and steal to get into that office. No idea why anyone looks up to Trump, Obama, Bush, Clintons, or the office of President in general. These are not good people with good values. These are by in large sociopaths who believe they are superior to the average person. That is not a quality I want any young person to emulate.

Politics has become more and more like sports. A game of winners and losers. It has becomes polarized. People need to realize that is part of the inherent problem with America.

[chrisab123]

Why would you visit a house that has a confirmed racist in the main seat? Btw his VP has been pushing anti gay bills for decades. He's also spending 3 million a week in taxpayer money to fly to his other White House, Mar-A-Lago. As a Pats fan as well I'm ashamed my team actually had 30 + people go.

Confirmed racist? Link that confirms this?

His entire campaign. Ben Carson as head of HUD? It's insulting.

One example. But his entire campaign was run on hate. He didn't think Obama was a citizen. He called our greatest president in perhaps the last 100 years an illegal. He demeans Muslims. It's awful. The travel ban targeting only Muslims is the most unconstitutional act ever. He's also a sexual predator. Why would anyone want to condone the Orange Dictatorship?

[MrBaynes]

In the current political atmosphere, it would be interesting. The 3 major contenders all have players/coaches who are vocally anti-trump. I think the Spurs would go, but Pop would make a written statement stating that the presidency is bigger than one man or something, maybe a couple of players would boycott. On the other hand, would Trump even want Pop there, Trump is not exactly great at extending a hand to critics? Would they be invited?

Warriors/Cavs, I could see major players boycotting. Depending on how many players boycotted, would the Admin even want to invite them, and have those type of optics? Would they want a photo op with Trump and 4-5 players?

[MartinToVaught]

I love how athletes aren't allowed to talk about politics, but its totally ok for a Reality TV star to be President.

The line has been blurred. It will never be the same.

The line had already been blurred before Trump. We've seen actors become governors (Reagan, Schwarzenegger, Jesse Ventura) and even the president (Reagan). Bill Bradley served in Congress and later ran for president. So did Jack Kemp and Fred Thompson. Al Franken is currently a senator. And that's just in America. In India, tons of Bollywood actors and actresses have transitioned to political office after their film careers. The Phillippines have also had a lot of entertainers run for public office and get elected.

Plus, it's worth pointing out that Trump wasn't just a reality TV star. He was already a businessman before the TV gig, and his line of work (real estate) is directly affected by politics.

[RIPskaterdude]

Why would you visit a house that has a confirmed racist in the main seat? Btw his VP has been pushing anti gay bills for decades. He's also spending 3 million a week in taxpayer money to fly to his other White House, Mar-A-Lago. As a Pats fan as well I'm ashamed my team actually had 30 + people go.

Confirmed racist? Link that confirms this?

His entire campaign. Ben Carson as head of HUD? It's insulting.

One example. But his entire campaign was run on hate. He didn't think Obama was a citizen. He called our greatest president in perhaps the last 100 years an illegal. He demeans Muslims. It's awful. The travel ban targeting only Muslims is the most unconstitutional act ever. He's also a sexual predator. Why would anyone want to condone the Orange Dictatorship?

Wait, Obama is perhaps the greatest president in the last 100 years? What?

The travel ban does not just target Muslims, or else he would have included all Muslim majority areas. Look up how he even got the 7 selected countries in the first place.

[Erifee]

Why would you visit a house that has a confirmed racist in the main seat? Btw his VP has been pushing anti gay bills for decades. He's also spending 3 million a week in taxpayer money to fly to his other White House, Mar-A-Lago. As a Pats fan as well I'm ashamed my team actually had 30 + people go.

Confirmed racist? Link that confirms this?

"He doesn't have a birth certificate, or if he does, there's something on that certificate that is very bad for him. Now, somebody told me -- and I have no idea if this is bad for him or not, but perhaps it would be -- that where it says 'religion,' it might have 'Muslim.' And if you're a Muslim, you don't change your religion, by the way."
- March 30, 2011, on The Laura Ingraham Show

[xfactor]

So how many Bucks players will go to the white house?

Thon Maker is from a banned country and Giannis was an undocumented immigrant. I don't think either of them would be quite interested in having anything to do with it.

Damn, I didn't realize that. If that's the case, I'd say the above is an understatement.

[xfactor]

What makes the NBA more liberal than the NFL?!

That seems about right.