It hasn’t quite been the equivalent of LeBron James’ famous “decision” from 2010, but the Warriors’ public hesitancy as a team to either accept or abstain from the customary visit to the White House, offered by the U.S. president, has become its own version of drama.
Saturday, that drama was put to bed when President Trump withdrew the offer; albeit an offer that hadn’t even been reportedly extended yet.
Going to the White House is considered a great honor for a championship team.Stephen Curry is hesitating,therefore invitation is withdrawn!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 23, 2017
Punctuational errors aside, the message was received.
According to ESPN, there were no indications before this tweet the Warriors had even been invited to the White House yet. Thursday night, the mothership reported that NBA reps had actually intervened and were in talks with the White House about the possible Warriors’ visit. The final understanding was that an invitation would in fact be presented to the 2017 NBA champs.
As has been made clear by Warriors’ coaches and players alike, the team’s decision on whether or not to accept the expected invitation wasn’t even set in stone. The outcome was seemingly inevitable as guys like Curry and Steve Kerr continued to publicize their lack of desire to shake hands with America’s leader. With the decision being made for them, we’ll look forward to what will most likely be responses dripping in sarcasm from witty guys like Andre Iguodala and Kevin Durant.
Say what you will about Mr. Trump, he was at least correct about Curry’s hesitancy. Although, by the time of his tweet, hesitancy might have given way to conviction on the part of the Warriors’ point guard and MVP. The below screen shot was taken from Curry’s appearance on Fox & Friends just minutes before the “official announcement” of the Warriors’ invitation being revoked.
And in case anyone was wondering, there is no public record this type of interaction between a U.S. president and an entire championship sports team has ever happened before.