Tom Brady and LeBron James had two very different responses to Donald Trump’s ‘locker room talk’
LeBron James is joining the throng of athletes who are condemning Donald Trump’s bragging about sexual assault as “locker room talk.” On Wednesday the NBA MVP was asked about his experience with real locker room talk, and his response was clear.
“What is locker room talk to me? It’s not what that guy said. We don’t disrespect women in no shape or fashion in the locker room. That never comes up. Obviously I’ve got a mother-in-law, a wife, a mom and a daughter -- and those conversations just don’t go on in a locker room. What goes on in a locker room is sporting events that went on the night before, about family, about strategies that we may have that night — about a highlight that may have happened. You know if there was a home run in the bottom of the ninth or if there was an alley-oop dunk from a player the night before. That’s what happens in our locker room. But what that guy was saying, that’s not, I don’t know what that is. That’s trash talk.”
James, it should be noted, publicly endorsed Hillary Clinton leading up to the 2016 election, but the question asked him wasn’t about who he was supporting, it was whether players in his locker room bragged about sexually assaulting women.
James wasn’t the only star athlete on Wednesday asked about Trump’s excuse that his bragging about sexual assault was “locker room talk.” New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, who publicly displayed a “Make America Great Again” hat in his locker, was asked his opinion of Trump’s comments. Brady, a Trump supporter, took a different route.
Two star athletes in their respective sports. Both of whom chose to bring politics into the locker room, so none of this can be confused as reporters not “sticking to sports.” Only LeBron had the guts to say something about it. Brady walked away.
