Donald Trump once added LeBron James to the White House’s ban list.
The US President has earned a reputation for making bold, controversial and at times bizarre statements at the lectern since entering the political arena in June 2015.
And during his first time in office, in June 2018, Trump told reporters that he would not invite either the Cleveland Cavaliers or Golden State Warriors to visit the White House following the conclusion of that year’s NBA Finals.
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Cavaliers forward James and Warriors guard Steph Curry had previously said their respective sides had no interest in the prospect of visiting the White House.
"I didn't invite LeBron James, and I didn't invite Steph Curry. We're not going to invite either team," Trump told reporters. "But we have other teams that are coming.
“If you look, we had Alabama — national champion. We had Clemson, national champion. We had the New England Patriots. We had the Pittsburgh Penguins last year."
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Earlier that week, James had admitted his side were not interested in visiting the White House, after Trump had disinvited 2018 Super Bowl champions Philadelphia Eagles from a White House event.
Trump had initially accused a selection of the Eagles’ players of taking a knee in protest during the national anthem, something none of the player’s did that season.
The White House then tied the rescinded invite to the Eagles allegedly turning their invitation into a “political stunt” by dramatically decreasing the size of the delegation the team would send.
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“I know regardless of who wins this series, no one wants an invite anyway. It won’t be Golden State or Cleveland going,” James told reporters at the time.
James, who in the past had called Trump a “bum”, said the President’s decision to disinvite the Eagles was “typical of him”, and added it was “laughable” that the White House had not extended an invitation to then WNBA champions Minnesota Lynx.
“Let’s not let someone uninviting you from their house take away from their championship,” he continued. “Winning a championship is way bigger than getting invited to the White House, especially with him in it.”
The Warrior ultimately claimed a 4-0 win in the finals.
Topics: Lebron James, Steph Curry
Chris Byfield