Sue Bird and the WNBA champion Seattle Storm will not make a trip to the White House and would decline an invitation if one was extended by President Donald Trump.
“At this point does it even need to be discussed?” said Bird, a 17-year veteran. “It’s come up. We pay attention to what happened with Minnesota and not getting invited. … We all pay attention to what’s going on.”
After winning the league title last year, the Minnesota Lynx never received a White House invite and chose to hand out shoes to low-income children during its trip to the nation’s capital.
Bird referenced the Golden State Warriors, which toured the African-American Museum instead of the White House following its 2017 NBA title and didn’t receive an invitation from Trump after its 2018 championship.
And she noted that NBA star LeBron James’ recent Twitter beef with Trump soured players’ opinion of the administration.
“It’s a huge disappointment,” said Bird, an 11-time All-Star. “(It) used to be something that’s really special and something that was an honor and you look forward to.”
