SOMERSET, N.J. (AP) - President Donald Trump denounced protests by NFL players and rescinded a White House invitation for NBA champion Stephen Curry in a two-day rant targeting top professional athletes and brought swift condemnation Saturday from league executives and star players alike.
Trump's comments in a Friday night speech and a series of Saturday tweets drew sharp responses from some of the nation's top athletes, with LeBron James calling the president a "bum."
Trump started by announcing Curry, the popular two-time MVP for the Golden State Warriors, would not be welcome at the White House for the commemorative visit traditionally made by championship teams after Curry indicated he didn't want to come. Later, Trump reiterated what he said at a rally in Alabama the previous night - NFL players who kneel for the national anthem should be fired, and called on NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to tell them to stand.
The Warriors said it was made clear to them they were not welcome at the White House.
Curry had said he did not want to go anyway, but the Warriors had not made a collective decision before Saturday - and had planned to discuss it in the morning before the president's tweet, to which coach Steve Kerr said: "Not surprised. He was going to break up with us before we could break up with him."
Others had far stronger reactions.
"U bum StephenCurry30 already said he ain't going!" James tweeted in a clear message to the president - a post that Twitter officials said was quickly shared many more times than any other he's sent. "So therefore ain't no invite. Going to White House was a great honor until you showed up!"
Curry appreciated James' strong stance.
"That's a pretty strong statement," Curry said. "I think it's bold, it's courageous for any guy to speak up, let alone a guy that has as much to lose as LeBron does and other notable figures in the league. We all have to kind of stand as one the best we can."
Curry added he doesn't believe Trump "respects the majority of Americans in this country."
James also released a video Saturday, saying Trump has tried to divide the country. "He's now using sports as the platform to try to divide us," James said. "We all know how much sports brings us together. It's not something I can be quiet about."
The Warriors said when they go to Washington this season they will instead "celebrate equality, diversity and inclusion - the values that we embrace as an organization." General manager Bob Myers said he was surprised by the invitation being pulled, and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said he was disappointed the Warriors won't be at the White House.
"The White House visit should be something that is celebrated," Myers said. "So we want to go to Washington, D.C., and do something to commemorate kind of who we are as an organization, what we feel, what we represent and at the same time spend our energy on that. Instead of looking backward, we want to look forward."
Added Kerr after his team's first practice of the season, "These are not normal times."
As a candidate and as president, Trump's approach has at times seemed to inflame racial tensions in a deeply divided country while emboldening groups long in the shadows. Little more than a month ago, Trump came under fire for his response to a white supremacists' protest in Charlottesville, Virginia. Trump also pardoned Joe Arpaio, the former sheriff of Arizona's Maricopa County, who had been found guilty of defying a judge's order to stop racially profiling Latinos.
Trump's latest entry into the intersection of sports and politics started in Alabama on Friday night, when he said NFL players who refused to stand for "The Star-Spangled Banner" are exhibiting a "total disrespect of our heritage."
Several NFL players, starting last season with then-San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick, have either knelt, sat or raised fists during the anthem to protest police treatment of blacks and social injustice. Last week at NFL games, four players sat or knelt during the anthem, and two raised fists while others stood by the protesters in support.
"That's a total disrespect of everything that we stand for," Trump said, encouraging owners to act. He added, "Wouldn't you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, you'd say, 'Get that son of a bitch off the field right now. Out! He's fired."
On Saturday, Trump echoed his stance.
"If a player wants the privilege of making millions of dollars in the NFL, or other leagues, he or she should not be allowed to disrespect our Great American Flag (or Country) and should stand for the National Anthem," Trump tweeted. "If not, YOU'RE FIRED. Find something else to do!"