The Cleveland Cavaliers had planned to stay at the SoHo Donald Trump-branded hotel New York. LeBron James, in a protest, decided not to join the team. James downplayed his decision. From Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal:
“I’m not trying to make a statement. It’s just my personal preference,” James said. “At the end of the day, I hope he’s one of the best presidents ever for all of our sake — my family, for all of us. But it’s just my personal preference. It would be the same if I went to a restaurant and decided to eat chicken and not steak.”
While Donald Trump actually no longer owns the Donald Trump SoHo hotel that the Cavs stayed at, it still bears the President-Elect’s name. The Cavaliers have a contract with Trump SoHo, which they signed long before this season. James was joined in his protest by around half of his teammates, but not his head coach:
“It’s not normal,” said coach Tyronn Lue, who is staying at the Trump hotel. “But considering the circumstances, that’s what we have. That’s not my main objective. My main thing is just trying to get this team to stay on track and playing the right way and trying to get back to playing Cleveland Cavaliers basketball.”
Lloyd also reports that the team is not expected to re-sign with any Trump-brand hotels after this season.
