The Cleveland Cavaliers are set to visit President Obama at the White House on Thursday, but NBA analyst Jalen Rose thinks these types of visits will see fewer players participating during the upcoming Donald Trump presidency.
“While personal politics in general can be a divisive topic. And for Donald Trump, during his candidacy, he became a polarizing candidate, which included along the way, insulting a lot of people," Rose said, via Sports Illustrated. "So those same people today as American citizens have to digest that he’s going to be the next president of the United States. How it’s going to affect sports?
"Unlike Tom Brady, when his team won the championship, and he chose not to go to the White House, saying it was a scheduling conflict when Barack Obama was in office. What we’re going to see in professional sports - NBA and NFL - mark my words, there will be players that decline the opportunity to visit the White House under his presidency.”
Both the Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins and the Super Bowl Champion Denver Broncos accepted invitations to visit the White House. The Chicago Cubs, who just won the World Series earlier this month, haven't announced plans to make the trip, though President Obama tweeted an invitation.
The refusal to attend a White House meeting wouldn't be entirely new. Several athletes and managers have refused to go in past presidencies, whether or not they've cited political differences or "scheduling conflicts." Former St. Louis Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols and manager Tony LaRussa, who both participated in Tea Party events, did not travel with the Cardinals to visit Obama after winning the World Series in 2011.
