Dear Golden State Warriors: You can be champions of the #Resistance, too

Your White House invitation is coming. You should use this as an opportunity to make a statement

By D. Watkins

Editor at Large

Published June 14, 2017 6:57PM (EDT)

Golden State Warriors (AP/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Golden State Warriors (AP/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Dear Warriors,

First and foremost, I’d like to congratulate you on your historic 2017 championship run.

I’m a LeBron fan and a KD-super team critic. I admit I rooted against you in the finals. But you guys had too much firepower, performed amazingly and kept it classy throughout the series, which was extremely inspiring. I love watching you guys play and look forward to enjoying this rivalry for years to come. Now it’s time for you to get the things that the winners get, like big gold trophies, a parade, new endorsements, shiny rings and a chance to meet the president — which is why I’m writing you this letter.

As a fan of the NBA and lover of all people from all walks of life, I ask that you reject Trump by boycotting the White House visit. I’m not alone. Yesterday a tweet from a verified Twitter account, Downtown Josh Brown, stated, “NBA champion Warriors skipping the White House visit, as a unanimous team decision per reports.” That tweet quickly spread around the net, getting more than 30,000 retweets and over 59,000 likes and prompting various sites to write stories about your decision.

We now know that tweet was false or based on false information; I feel, however, that this would be a great opportunity to take a stand, to show our fellow citizens and powerful corporations that normalizing the current president's behavior is not OK. Many of the New England Patriots probably agree with the president’s actions, but I know you are different, especially since so many Warriors have already bravely spoken out against him and his disrespectful antics.

Your swingman Shaun Livingston already went on record. "I really feel that my views would keep me from going and visiting," Livingston said in a radio interview. "Just with everything that's going on right now, I just don't agree with a lot of stuff that's happening. I definitely wouldn't go.”

After the election results came in last fall, big man David West told the San Francisco Chronicle, “This whole fairy tale about this post-racial utopia that Obama supposedly created is all bull. That's the bottom line. When you look at what the results say from last night, this nation has not moved a thread in terms of its ideals."

Your golden boy, super-duper star Steph Curry, got into a beef with Under Armor, the company that makes his shoes, over CEO Kevin Plank's loose Trump endorsement.

Trump is “a real asset,” explained Plank.

Curry responded to The Mercury News, "I agree with that description if you remove the 'et' from asset."

And even coach Steve Kerr has chimed in, calling Trump a "blowhard," who "couldn't be more ill-suited to be president,” among other harsh critiques.

That’s your team's star, coach and two key players, with serious objections to the current administration that stretch all the way across the internet. I can only imagine how the rest of your team feels. You can look at the way San Francisco and Oakland voted­­ to see that your fans feel the same; they don’t support Trump.

That White House invitation is coming, and when it does, I hope that you remember how Donald Trump has made racist statements, has constantly disrespected our Mexican brothers and sisters, faces multiple allegations of sexual assault and impropriety against women, took a dirty shot at Meryl Streep and has been representing our country in the worst way imaginable.

It’s safe to assume that many of your players will not attend a White House reception, or will not want to do so. So why not take the opportunity to make this a public act of resistance?

Trump should not be rewarded with a visit from your team, as it will be disrespectful to all of the hardworking people in your organization.­ Please, take a stand against Trump.


By D. Watkins

D. Watkins is an Editor at Large for Salon. He is also a writer on the HBO limited series "We Own This City" and a professor at the University of Baltimore. Watkins is the author of the award-winning, New York Times best-selling memoirs “The Beast Side: Living  (and Dying) While Black in America”, "The Cook Up: A Crack Rock Memoir," "Where Tomorrows Aren't Promised: A Memoir of Survival and Hope" as well as "We Speak For Ourselves: How Woke Culture Prohibits Progress." His new books, "Black Boy Smile: A Memoir in Moments," and "The Wire: A Complete Visual History" are out now.

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