LeBron James hasn’t done much to hide his political views, and that will continue when the Cleveland Cavaliers visit New York this week.
James and other Cavaliers teammates won’t stay at President-elect Donald Trump’s hotel in lower Manhattan when the Cavs travel to New York to take on the Knicks, ESPN.com reported Monday. James and his teammates were excused by the team, multiple team sources told ESPN.com.
As ESPN.com also points out, the Cavaliers have a contract with the hotel.
It’s not entirely surprising, as James has spoken out against Trump during election season, and the NBA superstar also campaigned for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton in October.
“We need a president who brings us together and keeps us unified,” James wrote in a Business Insider op-ed endorsing Clinton. “Policies and ideas that divide us more are not the solution. We must all stand together — no matter where we are from or the color of our skin. And Hillary is running on the message of hope and unity that we need.”
James spoke out against Trump in October when the Republican candidate found himself in hot water for lewd comments made toward women that surfaced after The Washington Post obtained video of a 2005 conversation he had.
Trump dismissed the comments as “locker room talk.”
“What is locker room talk to me? It’s not what that guy said,” James told reporters in October, per SI.com. “We don’t disrespect women in no shape or fashion in our locker rooms. That never comes up. I’ve got a mother-in-law, my mom, a wife and a daughter and those conversations just don’t go on in our locker room.”
ESPN.com reported earlier this season that at least three NBA teams will end business relationships with Trump-branded hotels.
Thumbnail photo via Bill Streicher/USA TODAY Sports Images
