Kevin Durant announced Thursday he will not be attending the White House should President Donald Trump invite the Golden State Warriors.
"Nah, I won't do that," he told ESPN's Chris Haynes. "I don't respect who's in office right now."
While Durant has yet to discuss his decision with the rest of the Warriors, he believes many of his teammates will agree with his stance.
"I don't agree with what he agrees with, so my voice is going to be heard by not doing that," Durant said. "That's just me personally, but if I know my guys well enough, they'll all agree with me."
A report surfaced in June that the Warriors had unanimously decided to skip their customary White House visit before the team later revealed that they had yet to receive an invite.
Given the recent events in Charlottesville, Va., Durant believes Trump has played a part in the current racial divide in the United States.
"He's definitely driving it," he added. "I feel ever since he's got into office, or since he ran for the presidency, our country has been so divided and it's not a coincidence. When (Barack) Obama was in office, things were looking up. We had so much hope in our communities where I come from because we had a black President, and that was a first.
"So, to see that, and to be where we are now, it just felt like we took a turn for the worse, man," he added. "It all comes from who is in the administration. It comes from the top - leadership trickles down to the rest of us. So, you know, if we have someone in office that doesn't care about all people, then we won't go anywhere as a country. In my opinion, until we get him out of here, we won't see any progress."
Golden State will likely be asked to visit the White House on Feb. 28, when the Warriors face the Wizards in Washington, D.C.
