The Golden State Warriors have won every NBA championship of the Donald Trump administration thus far, and they have yet to visit him.
Trump has disinvited the team from the ceremonial White House visits these past two seasons after he deemed them not adequately enthusiastic about the potential meetings.
People within the Warriors organization have been vocal critics of Trump and his policies, and Trump essentially disinvited them as a way to save face after it was obvious they wouldn’t attend if invited.
To say the team didn’t want to go to the White House because of Trump is an oversimplification of the issues at hand, though.
Draymond Green appeared on Cuomo Primetime on CNN to discuss the matter, and it was a really fascinating interview.
During one part of it, Chris Cuomo asked Green if the team would have done anything differently in hindsight regarding the White House situation, and Green’s answer was powerful.
Green said that the team would still have made the decision to not go, but that the choice wasn’t just about not wanting to see Trump.
He elaborated that the decision was based on the team standing up for their values, and that change isn’t possible if everyone goes about their day as if it’s just business as usual.
It would be a disservice to what the team stands for if they were to go to the White House just to adhere to a ceremonial tradition.
The team obviously doesn’t agree with a lot of what’s happening in the country right now, and they’re using their platform to try to bring about meaningful change.
The decision the team made goes beyond a dislike of Trump or just not wanting to be in the same room as him for a gathering.
They’re using their roles as public figures to try to impact the world around them, and Green put their motives into words perfectly.