Donald Trump continues to generate headlines in the sports world due to his comments on player activism and protests, and Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry believes NBA players must be doing the “right thing” if they draw the President’s ire.
Last week, Trump unsurprisingly blasted NBA players who have knelt during the national anthem in the league’s restart in the Orlando, Florida, bubble, calling the decision to do so “disgraceful.”
Several big names in the NBA presently playing in the Walt Disney World Resort’s ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex has since reacted to Trump’s condemnation. Curry, whose Warriors were not among the 22 teams that descended on Orlando, recently weighed in on Trump’s comments as well.
“My barometer is always, if the current president is upset about something that somebody’s speaking out on, then you’re probably saying the right thing,” Curry told The New York Times’ Marc Stein. “Whether they’ve knelt, or sacrificed an interview to talk about Breonna Taylor, or whatever’s important, they’re talking about it and they’re backing it up with action.”
Trump’s take on NBA players kneeling during the pregame ceremony — which has been widespread amid the league resumption — obviously should come as little surprise given his reaction to some members of the MLB's San Francisco Giants taking a knee during the anthem in their season-opening game last month.
In his tweet about the Giants, Trump threatened to turn off any game in which players kneel during the anthem. He has since doubled-down on that stance on several occasions, including as recently as Tuesday when he weighed in on the NFL’s upcoming season and how the players plan to engage in peaceful protest before games.
It’s been made abundantly clear since professional sports resumed across the country that Trump will continue to be the polarizing presence in the sports world he has been throughout his presidency, especially when it involves player protests during the anthem.
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