Donald Trump gets dumped again.
Earlier this week, Breanna Stewart, Sue Bird and the rest of the Seattle Storm swept the Washington Mystics to win their third WNBA title.
As the champagne started to flow and the celebrations escalated, the questions started to surface. How dominant is Breanna Stewart? Will Sue Bird return? Will they be visiting the White House (if invited)?
While the first two questions are debatable, the latter is definitive as the answer is a resounding no.
The Storm, regardless of whether an invitation will be sent or not, have decided that they won’t attend the White House, following in the footsteps of last year’s champions, the Minnesota Lynx, who never received an invite and decided to hand out shoes to low-income kids in D.C.
At this point does it even need to be discussed? said Bird. Its come up. We pay attention to what happened with Minnesota and not getting invited. We all pay attention to whats going on.
The attractiveness of visiting the White House, or even being invited by Trump and co., has lost its luster under this new administration and it’s no secret. The Golden State Warriors went to DC after winning the Title in 2017, but visited the African American Museum instead of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. A year later, they didn’t even receive an invitation, which the team was just fine with.
Steve Kerr comments on President Trump saying Warriors are not welcome at the White House | ESPN
Steve Kerr comments about President Donald Trump tweeting that the Warriors are not welcome at the White House, saying it is more difficult now to put aside political differences than in the past.
Trump’s continued attacks on sports, including the NFL, Colin Kaepernick, LeBron James and others, have stained the normally exciting visit to the White House, and with very few exceptions, sports has turned its back on the White House.
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LeBron James says he doesn’t regret calling Trump “u bum.” https://t.co/fmiSiz1Puh
Its a huge disappointment, Bird said. It used to be something thats really special and something that was an honor and you look forward to.
Under the current administration, Trump has welcomed champions like the Patriots, Astros, Penguins, Clemson Tigers and Alabama Crimson Tide. But not joining that list has been teams like the Warriors, the Storm, the South Carolina women’s basketball team, the UNC Tar Heels men’s basketball team and, most likely (based upon the fact that they haven’t been invited yet) the Notre Dame women’s basketball team and the Villanova men’s basketball team.
Theres an excitement about it, continued Bird. Youre going to the White House. I remember first walking in to meet President Obama and its like just the aura its insane.
And now its, thats not what the feeling is anymore. It doesnt feel exciting. Nobody wants to go. Its totally changed and thats disappointing because it used to be something that most athletes looked forward to.
Now it appears that many athletes could care less because of what the White House has become.
