The New York Daily News has provided a lot of space to reporting on whether or not the NBA champion Golden State Warriors will, or should, visit the Donald Trump White House to celebrate their 2017 title. Evan Grossman wrote the Warriors would be "jerks" to skip a White House visit and now Jake Becker reports the team's head coach, Steve Kerr, is open to a visit.
Kerr said, "I, like many of our players, am very offended by some of Trump's words and actions. On the other hand, I do think there's something to respecting the office, respecting our institutions, our government. And I think it could make a statement in a time where there's so much divide and everybody seems to be angry with each other."
Furthermore, Kerr said: "It might be a good statement for us to go and to show that, hey, let's put this aside, put all this partisan stuff aside and personal stuff aside, respect the institution. And maybe even if one of you players wants to voice your concerns over what's happening, what better opportunity to do so? Now, that may be incredibly idealistic. But I would want to at least bring that up with our players as an option rather than coming out and saying, 'No way. I'm not going.'"
Becker also says the Warriors have not met as a team about a White House visit because an invitation has not yet been extended. However, if an invitation is still a possibility, Kerr is offering an olive branch:
“But I would want to make sure the players gave this really a lot of thought. And everybody knows I've been a very outspoken critic of Trump, and as a result, maybe we won't even get the invitation. But I do think it's very important to consider a potential invitation because I think it could have really positive ramifications if we did go.”
Grossman told the Warriors to "stop being jerks and enjoy your championship." He asked, " And further, what kind of statement does it make if pro athletes decline an invitation? Refusing to meet with Trump, rejecting an invitation for a photo op, accomplishes less than nothing. Not showing up does not create dialogue; it creates silence." Not visiting the White House would be equivalent to Colin Kaepernick refusing to stand for the national anthem, Grossman argues.
But there's "one" in every crowd, be it reporters or the people they cover. Golden State forward Andre Iguodala foolishly thinks the whole issue may be a moot point because he says Trump might not even be president much longer. The New York Daily News writer Christian Red cited a USA Today quote by Iguodala to that effect: “I think we handle (the White House situation) when it gets there. I mean, it may be different. There might be somebody different in (office). That’s a realistic thing to say though, right? So you don’t know what’s going to happen.”
This hair-brained statement brings two thoughts to mind: Iggy is now qualified for work at MSNBC, and he proves that, as Mark Twin said, it's better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.
