Kevin Durant didn’t leave any room for interpretation when asked by ESPN’s Chris Haynes if he will be attending the White House as is customary for NBA Finals champions.
“Nah, I won’t do that,” Durant said. “I don’t respect who’s in office right now. I don’t agree with what he agrees with, so my voice is going to be heard by not doing that. That’s just me personally, but if I know my guys well enough, they’ll all agree with me.”
Durant said that this is not an organizational decision, just his personal opinion. While both Steve Kerr and Stephen Curry have previously said that they would probably not visit the White House either, the Warriors have yet to receive an official invite. After the incident in Charlottesville, Virginia over the weekend, Durant decided it was his turn to speak up, even if he didn’t in the immediate aftermath.
“I just wanted to sit back and analyze everything and gather my thoughts,” Durant said. “I wanted to say something immediately, but I definitely want to be the voice of where I come from and people who have come from my neighborhood and deal with oppression.
Durant believes that Trump’s rhetoric has played a part in the public rise of white supremacists.
“He’s definitely driving it,” Durant said. “I feel ever since he’s got into office, or since he ran for the presidency, our country has been so divided and it’s not a coincidence. When (Barack) Obama was in office, things were looking up. We had so much hope in our communities where I come from because we had a black president, and that was a first.
“So to see that and to be where we are now, it just felt like we took a turn for the worse, man. It all comes from who is in the administration. It comes from the top. Leadership trickles down to the rest of us. So, you know, if we have someone in office that doesn’t care about all people, then we won’t go anywhere as a country. In my opinion, until we get him out of here, we won’t see any progress.”