With Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau seated steps away, President Trump said Thursday that he’d “think about” whether to invite the NBA champion Toronto Raptors to the White House.
“They played phenomenal basketball,” he said about Canada’s first NBA champs.
“I watched a little bit of it. They were really terrific. Congratulations … that was a great job, by a great team. So we’ll think about that, if they’d like to do it.”
But it’s unclear if the Raptors — one of the most diverse teams in the league — are interested in an Oval Office grip-and-grin session with the commander-in-chief.
Of the 15 players on the team, six were born outside the US, and the team includes one Canadian, two Brazilians, an Argentine, a Lithuanian and a player from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Coach Nick Nurse sounded lukewarm about the idea in an interview with the Canadian sports site sportsnet.ca.
“Definitely the Trudeau meeting, because they have been asking me about scheduling it,” Nurse said.
“I’ve heard nothing from the White House. We’re Canada’s team anyway, right?”
Politics aside, Nurse says he truly doesn’t know if there will be a trip to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
“I think we’re here. Let’s go see Trudeau up in Ottawa … we’re Canada’s team,” he said.
The Raptors won the NBA title after beating defending champs the Golden State Warriors.
see also
Witness defends Raptors prez as arrest decision looms
SAN FRANCISCO — Prosecutors will decide whether to charge Toronto…
After winning the championship in 2017, several players, including star guard Steph Curry, said they’d skip the White House visit over Trump’s denigration of African American athletes who took a knee during the national anthem to protest social injustice.
“Going to the White House is considered a great honor for a championship team. Stephen Curry is hesitating, therefore invitation is withdrawn!” the president tweeted in response.
The Warriors instead toured the National Museum of African American History and Culture with Washington, DC, students.
The Warriors, who repeated as champs last year, were not invited back and said they would not have accepted if they had been.
Click Here: toulon rugby shop melbourne
0 thoughts on “Trump will ‘think about’ inviting NBA champ Raptors to White House”