Obama has a private meeting with the NBA team who refused to visit Trump at the White House
On Thursday, NBA defending champions, the Golden State Warriors, met privately with former President Barack Obama.
After winning 126-118 against the Washington Wizards, the Golden State Warriors made time to visit former President Barack Obama in Washington D.C. They had previously refused to meet with the current president.
An image of Obama posing with the team was posted on Instagram by a staff member of the Warriors. The meeting had been a secret until this photo was posted online.
Looks like the Warriors paid a visit to President Barack Obama during their visit to Washington DC. pic.twitter.com/D5PSwjc3Gl
— Logan Murdock (@loganmmurdock) January 25, 2019
The photo was quickly removed but a “Mercury News” reporter had already gotten a hold of it and posted it again on Twitter. In February 2016, after their 2015 championship win, the team visited Obama at the White House.
However, after their 2017 victory, they refused to visit President Donald Trump. Stephen Curry was one of the players who said they wouldn’t attend a White House reception if Trump invited them.
Got it done ✅ pic.twitter.com/1VjtTeYZ2u
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) January 25, 2019
It’s an ongoing tradition that the NBA Champions visit the White House after their win. The tradition stretches back over a number of decades and is usually a proud moment for most teams.
At the time, Trump publicly retaliated against the team by withdrawing the White House invitation to the NBA champions via a tweet:
“Going to the White House is considered a great honor for a championship team. Stephen Curry is hesitating, therefore invitation is withdrawn!”
Cavs and Warriors Stand United on Refusal to Visit White House https://t.co/HigDB5yfhD
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) June 6, 2018
In response to the president’s retaliation LeBron James wrote his own tweet:
“U bum @StephenCurry already said he ain't going! So therefore ain't no invite. Going to White House was a great honor until you showed up.”
They visited the real president
— Anamika (@AnamikaMadad) January 25, 2019
The Warriors know a real President when they meet one! @POTUS44 loves people. @POTUS only loves himself.
— Patricia G (@gagen_patricia) January 25, 2019
A Warriors team official revealed that the latest visit to Obama was organized by Curry. Speaking of the visit, Warriors forward Draymond Green said:
“It was good. A private team meeting, team event, it was good.'
.@BarackObama's 1977 yearbook photo of his Honolulu JV basketball team. pic.twitter.com/YdkCyswjxK
— ThePostGame (@ThePostGame) January 11, 2017
Obama himself is known for his skills on the basketball court. In the late 1970s, he played on both the J.V. and varsity teams at Hawaii’s Punahou School.
His team eventually won a state championship in 1979.
