Kobe Bryant once opened up about whether he would accept an invitation from Donald Trump to visit the White House.
Back in 2018 Trump caused controversy when he announced that he would not invite either the Cleveland Cavaliers or Golden State Warriors to visit the White House following the conclusion of that year’s NBA Finals.
His remarks came in the wake of Cavaliers forward Lebron James and Warriors guard Steph Curry having said they had no interest in visiting the White House, following the President’s decision to uninvite 2018 Super Bowl champions Philadelphia Eagles from a visit.
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"I didn't invite LeBron James, and I didn't invite Steph Curry. We're not going to invite either team," Trump told reporters at the time. "But we have other teams that are coming.
“If you look, we had Alabama — national champion. We had Clemson, national champion. We had the New England Patriots. We had the Pittsburgh Penguins last year."
James, who had previously labelled Trump as a “bum”, was unwilling to visit the White House after the President had criticised the Eagles’ players of taking a knee in protest during the national anthem. No Eagles players had done so that season.
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The White House subsequently tied the rescinded invite to the Eagles allegedly turning their invitation into a “political stunt”.
Amid the controversy, Bryant told Politico he “probably” would visit the White House if he were to be invited.
"I probably would go," he said. "That visit is more than how you feel about the current administration. It's about the guys next to you, about the flag, about the kids out there who look up to you and the United States. But, honestly, it's a tough call."
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Bryant had previously visited former US president Barack Obama in 2015 upon announcing his retirement from basketball.
"In sports, you get better by working in the gym," Bryant noted. "I wanted to know how [Obama] got better, from managing his schedule to what he reads. And because he gets sports, and we can talk about that, too, it makes it easier to have that connection."
Bryant added: "Obama didn’t inspire someone like Colin Kaepernick (the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback who knelt during the national anthem last season). But he did help athletes progress beyond just asking questions or just being angry, and asking why something is the way it is. Like what’s the constitutional reason behind something and what can be changed.
"He made locker rooms more politically aware. Conversations changed. Obviously, now with the violence we’re seeing across the country, that’s something athletes are understanding more and more. He was rare. We all miss him to a certain extent."
Topics: Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, Steph Curry
Chris Byfield