New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson said the team’s visit to meet with President Donald Trump at the White House is still uncertain.
While the team’s Trumpy owner, James Dolan, has already accepted an invitation on behalf of the championship team, Brunson said the actual team members had yet to discuss it.
“We haven’t discussed it. But as a team, we’ll discuss it, and we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it,” Brunson told Intelligencer.
Shortly after the team won the NBA Championship title, Dolan announced that the team had accepted the president’s invitation to the White House.
“We just received an invitation which we’ve accepted, still have to figure out the details,” Dolan said on WFAN Sports Radio. “I’ve known the president 30 years, and I’m very proud to bring the team to the White House.”
Dolan and Trump have been longtime friends. He invited the president to attend Game 3 of the NBA Finals, where Trump was seen sitting in the owner’s box with Dolan.
Trump’s presence at the crucial game was not well-received, as he was met with thunderous boos when he was shown on the Jumbotron. At times, he looked bored as he munched on pizza and fries and even got some shut-eye during the nail-biting match.
While the Knicks ultimately won the series and the title, Game 3 was the only game the team lost, as they snapped their 46-game win streak, having won 13 in a row.
Many Knicks fans blamed an apparent “Trump curse.” Some diehards took matters into their own hands, as they went to Madison Square Garden after the loss, trying to cleanse any type of bad juju by burning sage.
But with Brunson’s remarks and some of the team’s unfavorable view of the president, the visit remains uncertain.
Knicks forward Josh Hart is a known critic of the president, calling him a “dumba--” on social media on two occasions.
“YESSIR!!!! GET TRUMP’S DUMBA-- OUT THE WHITE HOUSE!!!!!!” he posted on X after Trump lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden.
“What a dumba--,” he posted in response to a tweet from Trump complaining about the NBA in 2020.
If they do accept Trump’s invitation to the White House, the Knicks would become the first NBA team to visit Trump after winning a championship, as every NBA team boycotted their customary visit during Trump’s first term in office.
