Golden State Warriors undecided on White House visit

The Golden State Warriors, reigning NBA champions, are still to take a final call on visiting United States President Donald Trump in the White House, according to reports. Every year, the defending champion pays a visit to the White House ahead of the start of the new NBA season.

However, the NBA's collective stance towards Trump's administration has given reason to believe that the Warriors would skip the customary visit. Steve Kerr, coach of the Warriors, has been one of most vocal critics of Trump and the Republican Party. "We will meet as a team to discuss it and make a decision," Kerr said late Thursday evening.

According to ESPN's Ramona Shelburne, the Warriors organisation has yet to receive invitation to visit the White House. "The (Warriors) (haven't yet) decided whether they would accept an invitation if it were offered, sources said. However, the NBA has stayed in close enough communication with the White House on the matter, and it is believed an invitation would be extended if the team decided as a group to attend," the report reads.

Kevin Durant has no intention to visit White House

Kevin Durant, the 2017 NBA Finals MVP, said last month that he had no intention to meet with President Trump. "Nah, I won't do that. I don't respect who's in office right now. I don't agree with what he agrees with, so my voice is going to be heard by not doing that. That's just me personally, but if I know my guys well enough, they'll all agree with me."

Though Durant wasn't speaking on behalf of his teammates, Kerr said on Thursday that team would take a collective decision. "I've talked to a couple of them about it. There are a lot of different dynamics to this and different viewpoints. We've got players from all over the world and all over the country and they're going to have different perspectives, so I think it's important for us all to get in a room and hash it out and decide what we want to do."

The NBA has been anti-Donald Trump from the onset. A day after Trump was elected president, celebrated coaches Gregg Popovich, Stan Van Gundy and Kerr raised concerns about the future of the country. Several NBA teams have also refused to stay in Trump-owned hotels.