A couple Cavaliers predicted NBA champions wouldn’t visit the White House with Donald Trump as president. LeBron James was noncommittal.
But Iman Shumpert – who had strong words about Cleveland beating the Warriors in the Finals again – took a hard line.
Shumpert, in a Q&A with Karizza Sanchez of Complex:Will you go to Trump’s White House if the Cavs win the championship again this year?
I’m not going to the White House.
People started boycotting New Balance after the company seemed to voice support for Trump. Kanye West recently said he would’ve voted for Trump if he had voted. Would you still wear Yeezys?
I understand people’s stance on Trump. I can’t get caught up in the racial, sexist bullshit he’s got going on. That’s his personal thing, ya dig? But I just don’t think he can make anything shake like that. He not finna start no civil war out here. I do think he’s crazy—straight up. I think he did that stuff to get people to think he’s willing to shake it up. But did I vote for him? No. The other stuff that comes with him, I can’t get with. But now that he’s here, I’m not finna drag my feet. I gotta work here, at least until the offseason, if I wanna go get a crib in the Islands.
Remember, Shumpert said he’d kneel for the national anthem before reversing course. Committing to meaningful protest is far easier than following through.
Any NBA champion who declines an invitation to the White House will be labeled as unpatriotic by the type of people who measure patriotism by the quantity and size of American flags and have forgotten this country was founded on a healthy irreverence for the political elite.
I understand why anyone would be leery of glad-handing with Trump, whose rhetoric is white nationalist and anti-constitutionalist. But Trump has also lied at an unprecedented rate for a presidential candidate. We have little idea what he’ll do by the time the next NBA champion is crowned, and given the respect the office deserves, Shumpert might have second thoughts if the Cavs repeat.