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Report: LeBron's refusal to stay at Trump SoHo jump-started exodus

Jason Miller / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Part of the reason why the Trump SoHo in Manhattan is excising the president's name from the hotel is LeBron James' refusal to stay there.

A little under a year ago, James and his Cleveland Cavaliers teammates chose not to use the SoHo's accommodations during the regular season.

Little did James know that his refusal would lead to a number of other high-profile clients to do the same, which in turn diminished the gratuities of several employees.

Per The New York Times' Sarah Maslin Nir:

But the glitter masked a challenging reality, according to a longtime member of the staff who asked not to be named because employees had signed a nondisclosure agreement. After LeBron James publicly refused to stay at the hotel last year, the corporate clients and 20 or so sports teams that had been regular guests almost entirely disappeared, the staff member said. Porters whose base salaries were once buoyed by up to $60,000 a year in gratuities have earned half as much in tips.

The Trump Organization announced Tuesday it reached a deal to remove its name from the property by the end of next month, thus cutting all ties between the 46-floor skyscraper's owners, the CIM group, and the POTUS.

Of the 12 NBA teams that had stayed at the SoHo since its 2010 opening, only one continues to do so, with the likes of the Phoenix Suns, Washington Wizards, and Toronto Raptors recently choosing to take their business elsewhere, according to The Washington Post's Tim Bontemps and David A. Fahrenthold.

James - who publicly endorsed Hilary Clinton during the election - has never hidden his disdain for President Donald Trump. He's said visiting the White House as a champion was once considered a "great" honor" until Trump was elected, while also calling him out for making hate "fashionable again."

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