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Donald Trump, Stephen Curry and sticking to sports

By Josh Cornelissen

Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images
Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images /
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President Donald Trump has inserted himself into the realm of sports. How do Stephen Curry and the NBA show that athletes are not sticking to sports?

Stick to sports.

It’s popular command levied by non-athletes to professional athletes when they speak out on political and social issues mired in controversy. Whether the concept had any validity to begin with, it became even more difficult to stomach once the country’s leading politician decided not to stick to his profession.

The sports world was set on fire last Friday when President Donald Trump brought up the NFL during a speech stumping for Alabama Senate runoff candidate Luther Strange. He rhetorically asked the crowd “Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a bitch off the field right now. Out. He’s fired. He’s fired!'”

Trump’s shockwaves through the sports world did not stop at the NFL. Also on Friday, the Golden State Warriors held their Media Day, the unofficial kickoff to the NBA season. After months of uncertainty over whether the reigning champs would visit the White House, the team was meeting Saturday to discuss as a team and make a decision.

Stephen Curry was understandably asked about his views, and he shared them. Explaining what is would mean to decline the invitation, Curry said:

"“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…I don’t think us going to the White House will miraculously make everything better, but this is my opportunity to voice that.”"

Before the team had the opportunity to have a team meeting, the decision was made for them. President Trump declared on Twitter that the Warriors were no longer invited to the White House, citing Curry’s hesitation:

This set off a firestorm of NBA responses, and the league’s biggest stars weighed in on the President and his tweet. LeBron James was quick to respond on Twitter, both in 140 characters and then later in a video.

Chris Paul also spoke out quickly and ruthlessly, calling out President Trump for his focus on sports instead of the more important issues facing our country. Stephen Curry responded specifically to President Trump’s comments to say he felt they were “beneath the leader of a country.”

The Warriors did not meet to make a decision on an invitation that was no longer extended. The team made a statement, expressing their disappointment, and declaring that when the team visits Washington D.C. in February they will use their time to “celebrate equality, diversity and inclusion — the values that we embrace as an organization.”

President Trump was not finished, spending the hours and days after his initial comments doubling down.

By Tuesday Trump had involved himself in four major sports, including praising NASCAR for the words of one owner speaking against protesting during the national anthem.

Athletes did not stick to sports in response to President Trump’s words, and most prominently, members of all 32 NFL teams took part in silent protests during or before the national anthem. While the NBA did not have the same platform this weekend to speak out, they have continued a long tradition of civil activism by speaking out as they are able.

Bill Russell boycotted a number of league events during and after his career for civil rights reasons. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, still the league’s all-time leading scorer, has been a political activist since early in his career, boycotting the 1968 Olympics and more recently speaking against President Trump during his campaign.

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It’s not only Hall-of-Fame players speaking out. Craig Hodges, a member of the Michael Jordan-era Chicago Bulls, spoke out on his beliefs. Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf may have been run out of the league for not standing for the national anthem.

While at times a person from the background has the opportunity to speak out, it is not the NBA’s lesser names that are dominating headlines with their words and actions. Earl Watson and Steve Clifford are not adamantly speaking out on President Trump and his administration; the media is not fastidiously tracking the political views of Yogi Ferrell and Jon Leuer. But the league’s biggest personalities, its most popular stars, are leveraging their platform to speak out on political issues — and the country is listening.

San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich is one of the winningest coaches in NBA history. A graduate of West Point, Popovich is affiliated with the military and the U.S. government in a way few in the league are. Again and again Popovich has spoken out on social and political issues. The man best known for his brief words to the media cannot speak enough on the causes he is passionate about.

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr is not silent either, frequently making his voice known on issues from the Presidential election to police brutality. He worked with Sports Illustrated‘s Chris Ballard to write on the issues of the past weekend. The son of a prominent political sciences professor, Kerr has been connected to politics since birth.

As a seven-time champion, former analyst and coach of one of the most dominant teams in NBA history, he has a platform few others can claim — and uses it to speak on the topics he is passionate about.

It’s not only the league’s current stars, but its past ones that are speaking out as well. Bill Russell knelt while wearing his Presidential Medal of Honor in response to this weekend’s protests across the nation, specifically at NFL games. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar spoke out in praise of Colin Kaepernick, and likened his protests to those of the nation’s founding fathers.

Curry is one of the last players many would have be expected to spark such a controversy. An outspoken Christian, Curry has been caught in situations where his moral conservatism has clashed with the moral liberalism of the league. When Adam Silver and countless players and team personnel were speaking out against North Carolina’s HB-2 transgender law, Curry gave guarded answers to walk the line between his beliefs and the popular stance held by most of the league.

But for Curry, Donald Trump is not a man worth respecting, much less honoring with a visit.

Are James, Curry, Kerr and Popovich right to leverage their platform for their personal political views? We have all heard the phrase “stick to sports,” but more and more often athletes ignore it. They kneel during the national anthem. They wear T-shirts to highlight causes important to them and their communities.

Perhaps it is not the idea of athletes sticking to sports that is truly matters, but rather staying away from uncomfortable topics. Athletes are praised for stepping out of the realm of sports to do universally positive things. J.J. Watt is a national hero after raising $27 million for victims of Hurricane Harvey. Tim Duncan came out of silent retirement to draw attention to the crisis in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The Dallas Mavericks are taking personal responsibility for Puerto Rico.

But when athletes touch on controversial topics, suddenly they’re out of bounds. The problem with this is the idea that athletes are somehow another type of citizen. Do we tell people in other professions they cannot voice their opinions? Do bankers have to “stick to finance”? Must grocers “stick to produce”? Are athletes singled out because of their raised platform, for the idea of “privilege” that President Trump highlighted?

Citizens being involved with politics is how our country works. Our leaders are elected by democratic elections, and U.S. citizens have both a right and responsibility to speak their views both verbally and by casting their vote.

Sports are supposed to be a distraction from the weariness of life. When friends and family are sick, when the news is filled with atrocities and loss, when your personal life is spinning out of control — sports are where you turn to get away, to enjoy something without having to engage with the slog of life.

What is happening now, with athletes protesting police brutality and calling for unity and refusing to visit the White House, is that sports are no longer an escape. The brokenness of the world is placed front and center when we turn on the football game, or go to our favorite basketball website.

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This isn’t what we want, but it’s what we need. If society is going to change, and if the old wounds of racism, stereotypes and turning a blind eye are going to be healed, then we can’t have a place to hide. We can’t have a retreat to get away from the ugliness still buried in our culture. If real change is going to take place, then each and every one of us must be confronted with the consequences of complacency and apathy.

And that only happens if athletes don’t stick to sports, if politicians don’t stick to politics, and if basketball writers don’t stick to writing. Instead we must step out of our comfort zones, outside of our standard rhythms, and get to know people that are not like us. Black athletes must get to know white Republicans. White NFL fans must get to know their neighbors who are scared around law enforcement. Corporate CEOs must get to know refugees.

While the Warriors had not officially decided to refuse the invitation to the White House, multiple players made it clear they would not be going. While they have every right to peacefully express their views, by refusing to visit the White House they turn down an opportunity for dialogue. However unlikely, without making an effort to push throughm these necessary conversations will never happen.

Thankfully, many of those conversations are happening after this past weekend. The sight of NFL teams kneeling on sidelines has prompted unavoidable discussions of why they are kneeling, of the policies of the man in the nation’s highest office, of the role of athletes in our culture. These discussions are a step on the path towards the reconciliation our nation so desperately needs.

Next: The 50 greatest NBA players of all time (updated, 2016-17)

Real change requires sacrifice, it requires work, and it requires looking away from the comfortable and instead staring straight into the bright light of a better future. Our only hope is that every American, from President Trump to Steph Curry to the fan sitting at home, commits to the hard work of change to make a better today and to preserve tomorrow.