LeBron James and a group of his Cleveland Cavaliers teammates will not stay at a Donald Trump-branded hotel with the rest of the team for their two-day stay in New York.
LeBron James among Cavaliers players who won’t stay at Donald Trump’s hotel
The team provided alternate accommodations for “a group that wants to be together elsewhere” for their trip to New York.
Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
The Cavaliers, according to an Associated Press report, have made alternative plans for players who wish not to stay at a hotel named after the president-elect. Cleveland general manager David Griffin told AP that the team has made plans for a “group that wants to be together elsewhere,” though he did not specify which hotel they would stay.
However, James said Friday that the decision was not a statement, but personal preference.
“It would be the same if I went to a restaurant and decided to eat chicken and not steak,” James told the AP’s Brian Mahoney.
The Cavaliers arrived in New York on Tuesday for their game against the Knicks on Wednesday. James said it was the first time he did not stay with the team hotel, and the Cavaliers would not confirm how many other teammates stayed elsewhere that Tuesday.
“It’s not normal, but considering the circumstances that’s what we have,” Cavaliers’ Tyronn Lue told the AP. “But that’s not my main objective. My main thing is to try to get this team to stay on track and play the right way and try to get back on track by playing Cleveland Cavalier basketball.”
James’ actions, whether intended as a statement or not, come on the heels of NBA head coaches — including Detroit’s Stan Van Gundy, San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich, and Golden State’s Steve Kerr — speaking out against the nation’s decision to elect Trump as president. It also followed an ESPN.com report revealing three NBA teams would no longer stay at Trump-branded hotels this season.
Over the past year, James has publicly endorsed Hillary Clinton, the Democratic presidential candidate who lost the election to Trump. Richard Jefferson and Iman Shumpert were among the Cleveland players to voice their disappointment with the election results.
“At the end of the day I hope he’s one of the best presidents ever, for all of our sake,” James said in the same media appearance on Friday. “For my family, for all us.”
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