Kevin Durant said today that he will not visit the White House if invited, noting that he does not agree with or respect President Donald Trump.
Durant spoke to Chris Haynes of ESPN today about his views on Trump, particularly the president’s decision not to condemn white nationalist groups after last weekend’s white supremacist rally and subsequent domestic terrorism in Charlottesville, Va.
“I don’t respect who’s in office right now [...] I don’t agree with what he agrees with, so my voice is going to be heard by not doing that,” Durant said about a potential White House visit. “That’s just me personally, but if I know my guys well enough, they’ll all agree with me.”
The White House has not yet extended a formal invitation to the Golden State Warriors for their NBA championship this year. If a visit happens, it will likely be when the Warriors visit Washington to play the Wizards in February. Several of Durant’s teammates, notably Stephen Curry and Andre Iguodala, have said they do not want to attend if invited. (Coach Steve Kerr has also spoken publicly about a potential visit, saying that he would “entertain the idea.”)
“I just wanted to sit back and analyze everything and gather my thoughts,” Durant said. “I wanted to say something immediately, but I definitely want to be the voice of where I come from and people who have come from my neighborhood and deal with oppression .... What’s going on in Charlottesville, that was unfathomable.”
Durant also elaborated on his feelings about Trump in a separate interview this morning, when TMZ asked him how he felt about fellow basketball players such as LeBron James criticizing the president: “Hell yeah, hell yeah. That’s how it’s supposed to be. We don’t fuck with him.”
“It all comes from who is in the administration. It comes from the top. Leadership trickles down to the rest of us,” Durant told Hayes. “So, you know, if we have someone in office that doesn’t care about all people, then we won’t go anywhere as a country. In my opinion, until we get him out of here, we won’t see any progress.”
[ESPN]