While the Golden State Warriors paid no attention to Donald Trump’s “withdrawn” White House invitation, the 2016-17 NBA champions were putting together another activity that’ll still commemorate their win.
According to The Washington Post, the Warriors will tour the National African American Museum of History and Culture (NMAAHC) with students from Washington, D.C. The Smithsonian opened up in September 2016 to rave reviews and has been the nation’s capital’s epicenter for groundbreaking moments in black enlightenment.
In a statement made by Warriors shooting guard Klay Thompson, this visit will serve as an educational tool for the youth and that the franchise’s goal is to not insert politics into their decision.
“The White House is a great honor, but there are some other circumstances that we felt uncomfortable going,” Thompson said. “We’re not going to politicize anything. We’re going to hang out with some kids, and take them to the African American Museum, and hopefully teach them some things we learned along the way, and life lessons, and hopefully give them some great memories.”
It’s a known and herald tradition for championship teams to meet with the country’s presiding president for a photo-op inside the White House, but Trump doesn’t share the same views with a number of the Warriors’ members which led the team to make a decision to decline the opportunity.
In an interview with USA Today, Stephen Curry said by the Warriors opting out of this tradition, “We’re using our platforms, using our opportunities to shed light on that, so that’s kind of where I stand on it. I don’t think us not going to the White House is going to miraculously make everything better, but this is my opportunity to voice that.”