If President Donald Trump’s intention was to unite many players in the NFL as well as some of the biggest stars in the NBA in a tweet storm of public protest against him, he definitely succeeded.
After Trump blasted NFL players at a political rally Sept. 22 in Huntsville, Alabama, for kneeling during the national anthem to raise awareness of racial inequalities, the pushback was fierce from all corners of the two immensely popular sports leagues.
Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James, the greatest basketball player of his generation and possibly the most famous athlete in the world, called Trump a “bum” for a Saturday morning tweet directed at Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry. On Sept. 22, Curry said he didn’t want to participate in the traditional White House visit that championship teams of professional sports leagues make annually.
On social media, other NBA stars followed James’ lead, blasting the person who occupies the nation’s highest office.
All-Star point guard Chris Paul suggested Trump isn’t “man enough to call any of those players a son of a b—- to their face,” alluding to Trump encouraging owners to cut ties with NFL players who participate in national anthem protests.
“Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a b—- off the field right now,’ ” Trump said at the rally. “Out. He’s fired! He’s fired!”
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