Golden State Warriors skip White House visit to meet local kids in Washington D.C

What's the story?

The reigning NBA Champions, the Golden State Warriors have decided to meet local kids on their upcoming trip to Washington D.C instead of visiting the White House to meet the President, as was the tradition followed by previous Championship teams.

In case you didn't know

At the beginning of this season, on media day, Stephen Curry had mentioned about not wanting to go to the White House as the President's policies are against his beliefs.

Heart of the matter

Although Curry had said that, other players had said putting the visit up for a vote but eventually that wasn't required as President Donald Trump took to Twitter and withdrew the team's invitation.

Going to the White House is considered a great honor for a championship team.Stephen Curry is hesitating,therefore invitation is withdrawn!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 23, 2017

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Both Curry and Kevin Durant have been quite unspoken about Trump and his actions or policies. This is what Curry said at the time of Trump's tweet back in September.

"We're not trying to divide and separate this country," Curry said at the time of Trump's tweet. "We're trying to bring everybody together and speak about love and togetherness and equality. I think that was demonstrated in response to what happened this morning, which is a powerful thing for sure."

ESPN's Chris Haynes and Ramona Shelbourne were the first to report the team's alternate plans. The report further states that the players, on their trip to the capital, wanted a positive, personal and intimate experience and head coach Steve Kerr was all for it.

"It's their championship. They got disinvited to the White House, so it's up to them what they wanted to do. So they made their plans," Kerr told ESPN. "I want the players to have a good day and to do something positive and to enjoy what they're doing."

The players considered visiting Durant's hometown of Seat Pleasant, Maryland and D.C Mayor Muriel Bowser and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, two members of the Democratic Party, had extended invites but eventually, the players withdrew from that option. They didn't want any political angle to hijack the mission of their visit.

What's next?

After playing a couple of games at home against the LA Clippers and the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Warriors take off for an eight-day Eastern Conference road trip where they face the New York Knicks, Washington Wizards, and the Atlanta Hawks.

Author's Take

The Warriors, in multiple instances especially over the past few years, have shown themselves to be progressive on and off the court. This decision is no different.