President Donald Trump came under harsh criticism Saturday from the NFL and some of the NBA’s top players after he blasted prominent athletes for kneeling during the national anthem and refusing to come to the White House, putting himself in the center of a controversy with significant racial and cultural undertones.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell slammed Trump in a statement Saturday morning, calling the President “divisive” for remarks he made at a rally in Alabama Friday night, while one of the most famous athletes in the world, LeBron James, called Trump a “bum” for his Saturday morning tweet uninviting Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry from visiting the White House.
The Golden State Warriors issued a statement later Saturday accepting Trump’s dis-invitation.
“While we intended to meet as a team at the first opportunity we had this morning to collaboratively discuss a potential visit to the White House, we accept that President Trump has made it clear that we are not invited,” the team said.
The statement added that while the team will not be visiting the White House, its players will still come to the nation’s capital in February “to celebrate equality, diversity and inclusion — the values that we embrace as an organization.”
Former Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant also tweeted a rebuke of Trump.
“A #POTUS whose name alone creates division and anger. Whose words inspire dissension and hatred can’t possibly ‘Make America Great Again,'” Bryant wrote.
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