LeBron James refuses to stay in Donald Trump-owned hotel in New York

LeBron James and some of his Cleveland Cavaliers teammates have refused to stay in a Donald Trump-owned hotel during their visit to New York this week, according to several reports.

The Cavs, who are currently in Toronto to face the Raptors, will fly to New York on Tuesday before facing the Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday. Even though the Trump SoHo hotel is the team's planned accommodation, James & Co. have been granted permission to stay elsewhere.

Since the organisation has a contract with the 46-story luxury building, most members of the team's travelling party will inhabit the posh hotel in lower Manhattan. However, James has categorically refused to do so, according to ESPN.

During the 2016 presidential elections, James had actively endorsed Hillary Clinton and held a rally in Northeast Ohio for the Democratic candidate a month before the polls.

As reported earlier, the Milwaukee Bucks, Memphis Grizzlies and Dallas Mavericks have already ceased their business ties with Trump-owned hotels and have found alternative accommodations ahead of their trips to New York and Chicago this season.

LeBron James, Cavs against Donald Trump

Since Trump was elected President on Nov. 8, several Cleveland Cavaliers players have taken to social media and other platforms to express their displeasure at the results. Richard Jefferson, the veteran forward who played a key role in the team's triumph in the NBA Finals last June, suggested on Snapchat that his team would be the last to visit the White House -- and warned that future champions would refuse the annual meet-and-greet session with the incumbent President.

"I just look across this league. There's been other players with 'scheduling conflicts' as they like to call it -- not necessarily a political stance. But I could see other scheduling conflicts coming up," Jefferson had said on snapchat.

Iman Shumpert, one of the Cavs players who won't be staying in the Trump SoHo hotel this week, has been more blatant with his criticism of the nation's voters. "I'm not going to the White House (if we repeat as champions next year)," he told Complex in an interview.

"I understand people's stance on Trump. I can't get caught up in the racial, sexist bulls*** he's got going on. That's his personal thing, ya (you) dig? But I just don't think he can make anything shake like that. He (he's) not finna (intending to) start no civil war out here. I do think he's crazy -- straight-up.

"I think he did that stuff to get people to think he's willing to shake it up. But did I vote for him? No. The other stuff that comes with him, I can't get with. But now that he's here, I'm not finna drag my feet. I gotta (got to) work here, at least until the offseason, if I wanna (want to) go get a crib in the islands," Shumpert said during his long rant.

J.R. Smith and Kevin Love are the other Cavaliers players who have spoken up against the U.S. President-elect. LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers are trying to snap a three-game losing streak against the Raptors on Monday.