Warriors players yesterday "reiterated that the team hasn’t had an official discussion about whether or not they will go to the White House, if invited," but G Stephen Curry made it "pretty clear that he doesn't have an interest in visiting" President Trump, according to Anthony Slater of the SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS. Curry said, "Somebody asked me about it a couple months ago, a hypothetical, if a championship were to happen: ‘What would I do?' I think I answered that I wouldn’t go. I still feel like that today." Warriors F Kevin Durant said, "We just won the championship and I guarantee that wasn’t on anyone’s mind. We haven’t even talked about it." Both Curry and Warriors G Shaun Livingston "mentioned the team discussion that is to come on the subject." Livingston: "It's a panel. Our captains lead the panel. Other guys weigh in. Everyone has a voice. I've stated my opinions before." Curry said a few players have had "side conversations" before on the subject, but "you don't plan anything until you win the championship" (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 6/15). Curry said, "I personally would do the right thing for me." In S.F., Scott Ostler notes that is the "most definitive statement since the Warriors capture the title." It is also an "indication that though the Warriors will hash out this decision as a team, and vote yea or nay on accepting an invitation, there will be wiggle room for individual choice." It is "not fair to the Warriors that they have been thrust into this dilemma." If and when the time comes to make a decision, the Warriors will "embrace the opportunity to take a stand" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 6/15).
TAKE A CHANCE, MAKE A CHANGE: In DC, Sally Jenkins writes if the Warriors "want to make a truly radical statement for the times, they could show up at the White House and civilly disagree with the man who inhabits it." The question before them is "whether a team boycott would be a useful act of conscience or just a gratifying snipe that adds to the current toxicity." Considering the political climate, the time is "wrong for such a boycott." The Warriors should not "set their citizenship or politics aside," but instead "make a declarative statement about the bright-line difference between dissent and contempt." The Warriors, "attractive public figures as they are, have a unique ability to cut through all the shouting and perform an act of critical social activism." They can be "exemplars of political civility at a time when it’s most needed" (WASHINGTON POST, 6/15). But ESPN's Jalen Rose said, "This core group of players has already been to the White House. So now they can be politically and socially conscious and actually take a stand, if they feel that this is the way they want to get their message across” ("Jalen & Jacoby,” ESPN Radio, 6/14).
