A recent report from the Washington Post suggests that NBA teams are actively avoiding staying Trump hotels. Sports fans have been exposed to a cavalcade of disparaging remarks of Trump on behalf of NFL players protesting racial oppression and police brutality during the national anthem.
However, according to the Post, the rejection of Trump’s hotels began long before Trump even took office. The Post reports that multiple NBA teams – up to 12 in count – have chosen to stay elsewhere since 2015.
The Following from the Washington Post:
All but one of the 12 teams said they have stopped patronizing the Trump SoHo since Donald Trump launched his presidential bid in 2015, according to team officials. Among the latest to depart were the Raptors, Phoenix Suns, Houston Rockets, Sacramento Kings and Washington Wizards, who all dropped Trump SoHo this summer and made different arrangements for the upcoming season.
The Post continues to note that teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder, Memphis Grizzlies, and Los Angeles Lakers now stay elsewhere. LeBron James, and “several other players” helped to usher in the Cavaliers new era of hotel accommodations.
The Golden State Warriors stopped employing the services of Trump’s hotels in 2016 — the Post’s report says– well before Trump attacked Stephen Curry on Twitter for the team’s decision to skip their visit to the White House.
In an interview with The Post Warriors head coach gave his thoughts on the matter,
“The president has seemingly made a point of dividing us as best he can,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr told The Post in an interview this week, explaining the shift. His team quit using Trump SoHo in 2016. “He continually offends people, and so people don’t want to stay at his hotel. It’s pretty simple.
The Post reports the Milwaukee Bucks cited that their reason for avoiding Trump hotels. According to the report, the Bucks felt the establishments failed at “reflecting the franchise’s values.” It also says “some players were not comfortable patronizing its properties.”
