Donald Trump 'banned' Steph Curry from visiting the White House after he led the Golden State Warriors to the NBA championship in 2017.
Curry, one of the greatest to ever step onto the court, is a four-time NBA champion with the Warriors.
He is in the coveted $500 million club alongside LeBron James and Kevin Durant and has been branded a 'modern day Michael Jordan'.
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But eight years ago, Curry became a major talking point away from the court after Trump withdrew an invitation for him to attend the White House due to him "hesitating".
During his first tenure as US president, Trump caused an almighty stir when he instructed NFL owners to fire players who elected against standing for the national anthem.
Huge names spoke out and a monumental divide was created. In American sports, teams typically attend the White House for a service after a major championship win.
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Curry did not want to go but before the Warriors communicated a final decision, Trump made an announcement of his own on his official X account.
He wrote: “Going to the White House is considered a great honor for a championship team. Stephen Curry is hesitating, therefore invitation is withdrawn!”
Shortly after, the Warriors made a statement of their own and said they would use their trip to the nation’s capital in February 2018 "to celebrate equality, diversity and inclusion".
"While we intended to meet as a team at the first opportunity we had this morning to collaboratively discuss a potential visit to the White House, we accept that President Trump has made it clear that we are not invited," an official Warriors statement said.
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"We believe there is nothing more American than our citizens having the right to express themselves freely on matters important to them. "We’re disappointed that we did not have an opportunity during this process to share our views or have open dialogue on issues impacting our communities that we felt would be important to raise.
"In lieu of a visit to the White House, we have decided that we’ll constructively use our trip to the nation’s capital in February to celebrate equality, diversity and inclusion — the values that we embrace as an organization."
NBA commissioner Adam Silver said he was "disappointed" that a planned visit did not occur, while James got involved and backed Curry.
He posted: "U bum @StephenCurry30 already said he ain't going! So therefore ain't no invite. Going to White House was a great honor until you showed up!"
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Curry and the Warriors did visit the White House in 2023 after their 2022 Championship win, and presented then-president Joe Biden and vice-president Kamala Harris with their own custom jerseys.
In NFL, the Philadelphia Eagles have accepted an invitation to visit the White House on 28 April to celebrate their Super Bowl win over the Kansas City Chiefs in New Orleans.
Topics: Steph Curry , NBA
Josh Lawless