President Trump’s tweets have "continuously irked" Warriors G Stephen Curry, as did SI's "cover that featured protesting athletes" with the exception of Colin Kaepernick, according to Mark Medina of the San Jose MERCURY NEWS. The cover "featured Curry locking arms" with Cavaliers F LeBron James and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. The cover did "not feature Kaepernick, however, despite being the first NFL player last season to sit and kneel during the national anthem." Curry said, "That was terrible. It’s kind of capitalizing on the hoopla, the media and all that nonsense. This is about the real people that are understanding exactly what is going on and who’s really been active and vocal and truly making a difference. If you don’t have Kaepernick front and center on that, something’s wrong." Curry said of recent protests during the anthem, "If you watched us all last year for us, we stood during the national anthem. Certain teams locked arms and had demonstrations. The NFL has taken a different approach. It’s about the message. It’s not just about the act" (San Jose MERCURY NEWS, 9/28). THE ATHLETIC's Tim Kawakami noted Warriors coach Steve Kerr wrote a "thoughtful essay" on the topic that is a "featured piece in the magazine." The cover was sent to Kerr yesterday morning, and he said, "I was flattered; I was like, 'Wow, I'm on the cover of Sports Illustrated!' And then I looked at it and went, ‘Where the hell is Kap?' If the article is about activism in sports, how is Kaepernick not on the cover?" Curry: "I saw me and LeBron and Roger Goodell -- and me and Roger Goodell? That just makes zero sense at all. He had the most on-the-fence kind of comment" (THEATHLETIC.com, 9/27).
MISSING THE POINT? In DC, Tim Bontemps writes the cover "had several issues." The first was that Kaepernick "wasn’t anywhere to be found." There was also "only one woman" -- Sparks F Candace Parker. The "other issue was with Goodell being put in such a prominent place after many felt his initial statement" about Trump's comments "wasn’t strong enough" (WASHINGTON POST, 9/28). In S.F., John Shea notes A's C Bruce Maxwell, the first MLB player to kneel during the national anthem, was also one of "10 sports figures" on the cover. Maxwell said, "When I saw the Sports Illustrated cover, in my mind was the late Nelson Mandela, who said sports has a way of uniting the country, unlike any other government or power can do. Right now, that’s what’s showing. Guys from all over the world are starting to stand up for the equality of man in general and not just a single race” (S.F. CHRONICLE, 9/28).
