LeBron James, Steph Curry don’t expect NBA Finals winner to go to White House

President Donald Trump canceled the Eagles’ scheduled White House visit on Monday night, and LeBron James, who’s been outspoken against Trump, isn’t surprised. In an NBA Finals media appearance, the league’s star spoke about how he expects neither the Cavs nor Warriors will want an invite to the White House, and how the president’s actions are “typical.”

Here’s video:

LeBron: I actually just found out about it when I was walking up to the podium, I really didn’t digest it enough. It’s typical of him. I’m not surprised. Typical of him. I don’t know ... I mean no matter who wins this series, no one wants the invite anyways.

Warriors star Stephen Curry said he agreed with James on the disinterest of visiting the White House, according to ESPN’s Chris Haynes.

James was also asked about the WNBA Finals champion Minnesota Lynx never receiving an invite to the White House, to which he responded, “It’s laughable. You laugh to keep from crying.”

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr spoke to, saying “The president has made it pretty clear he’s gonna try to divide all of us in this country for political gain.”

Kerr: It’s not surprising. The president has made it pretty clear he’s going to divide us, all of us for political gain. I think we all look forward to the day when we can go back to having a celebration of athletic achievement.

James and Curry have spoken against Trump before

A year ago, the Golden State Warriors were uninvited from the White House after winning the Finals, though the team had already stated it wasn’t coming.

“Going to the White House is considered a great honor for a championship team,” Trump said on Twitter. “Stephen Curry is hesitating, therefore invitation is withdrawn!”

James backed up Curry on Twitter, calling Trump “a bum,” adding “Going to White House was a great honor until you showed up!”

James expanded on those thoughts in a video with The Uninterrupted.

“I think it’s basically at a point where I’m kind of, just a little frustrated, man. This guy who we’ve put in charge has tried to divide us right again. Obviously, we all know what happened with Charlottesville and the divide that caused. Now, it’s even hitting home for me more because he’s now using sports as the platform to try to divide us.

“We all know how much sports brings us together, how much passion it has, how much we love and care, the friendships and everything it creates. For him to use this platform to divide us even more is not something I can stand for and is not something I can be quiet about.

“You look at him asking the NFL owners to get their players off the field because they’re exercising their rights. That’s not right.

“And then, when I wake up, I see that a colleague of mine has been uninvited from something that he didn’t even want to go to in the first place, to the White House. That’s just something I can’t stand for, man.

“We got Jemele Hill, Colin Kaepernick, all these people are speaking up, and it’s for the greater cause. It’s for us to all come together. It’s not about a division. It’s not about dividing. We, as the American people, need to come together even more stronger, man.

“Because this is a very critical time, and me being in the position that I am, I had to voice this to y’all.

“Love y’all, man.”

Eagles players have been outspoken, too

On Monday, President Trump released the following statement:

“The Philadelphia Eagles are unable to come to the White House with their full team to be celebrated tomorrow. They disagree with their president because he insists that they proudly stand for the national anthem, hand on heart, in honor of the great men and women of our military and the people of our country. The Eagles wanted to send a small delegation, but the 1,000 fans planning to attend the event deserve better. These fans are still invited to the White House to be part of a different type of ceremony — one that will honor our great country, pay tribute to the heroes who fight to protect it, and loudly and proudly play the national anthem. I will be there at 3 p.m. with the United States Marine Band and the United States Army Chorus to celebrate America.”

Later in the day, the White House sent another statement saying that “the vast majority of the Eagles team decided to abandon their fans.”

Players have vehemently denied that reasoning.

On Monday, former Eagles receiver Torrey Smith said, “There are a lot of people on the team that have plenty of different views. The men and women that wanted to go should’ve been able to go. It’s a cowardly act to cancel the celebration because the majority of the people don’t want to see you. To make it about the anthem is foolish.”

He continued:

Safety Malcolm Jenkins also took to Twitter to speak about how the White House “made the decision to lie, and paint the picture that these players are anti-America, anti-flag and anti-military.”

Just like the Eagles, James and Curry are already making it clear that the NBA won’t celebrate its champion in the White House for a second consecutive season. Though this time, the decision seems clear before the winner’s been named.