Stephen Curry Says He’ll Vote No on Warriors’ Potential White House Trip
Warriors guard Stephen Curry said Friday that he plans to vote no when the team sits down to decide whether they will attend the White House.
Visiting the president in D.C. is customary for American championship teams. Curry, head coach Steve Kerr and other members of the Warriors have been outspoken against president Donald Trump, his policies and his stances on social issues in the past, and Curry’s comments then come as little surprise after he said the same thing in June.
Addressing reporters Friday, Curry said he hopes the Warriors can make a statement by choosing not to go.
Asked what it would mean to decline an offer (the White House has not officially asked the Warriors to go, as far as anyone knows), Curry said this, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic.
“That we don’t stand for basically what our president has — the things that he’s said and the things that he hasn’t said at the right times — that we won’t stand for it. By acting and not going, hopefully that will inspire some change when it comes to what we tolerate in this country, what is accepted and what we turn a blind eye toward. It’s not just the act of not going, there are things you have to do in the back end that you have to push that message into motion.
“You can talk about all the different personalities that have said things and done things — from Kaepernick to what happened with Michael Bennett to all sorts of examples of what has gone on in our country that has led to change. We’re all trying to do what we can using our platforms, using our opportunities to shed light on that. That’s kind of where I stand on that. I don’t think us going to the White House will miraculously make everything better, but this is my opportunity to voice that.”
In August, Kevin Durant said he “didn’t respect” Trump and didn’t plan to attend either. He reiterated his stance Friday.
Although Kerr has been publicly in opposition to Trump for some time, the coach has repeatedly made clear that he wanted the Warriors to decide as a team and that he was open to whatever the players wanted to do. As training camp convenes in the coming days, it will be their first chance to meet together since winning the NBA Finals in July.
The Warriors don’t visit Washington until Feb. 28, when they play the Wizards.