Once upon a time, it was an honor to meet the President.
We don’t really need to tell you that, at least right now, that’s not really the case. Other than his crazed fans — and really, they can only be called fans and not supporters, because they can’t actually name policies they support, they just love him — there’s really not anyone who would even want to be seen near Donald Trump these days.
The same goes for sports teams, especially in light of his constant attacks against players of color who exercise their First Amendment right to protest against unjust treatment at the hands of law enforcement. Some, however, don’t even need the impetus of his racism — his sexism, xenophobia, homophobia, and litany of other fatal character flaws do the job just fine.
The newest championship team in professional sports, the Seattle Storm, is no stranger to meeting a President: After the 2004 championship season, they met then-President George W. Bush, and when they won again in the 2010 season, they were thrilled to meet President Obama.
But will they be meeting with Donald Trump?
Legendary guard Sue Bird headed it off before the idea took on too much life. She told the Seattle Times:
At this point does it even need to be discussed?  It’s come up. We pay attention to what happened with Minnesota and not getting invited.”
Bird was referring to Trump’s snub of the Minnesota Lynx after the 2017 season; clearly, Trump doesn’t even consider women’s basketball a “real” sport. Bird, however, is no slouch — you can rest assured that when the Seattle superstar retires, she’ll make the Hall of Fame in the first round of voting. Bird went on:
There’s an excitement about it. You’re going to the White House. I remember first walking in to meet President Obama and it’s like—just the aura—it’s insane. And now it’s, that’s not what the feeling is anymore. It doesn’t feel exciting. Nobody wants to go. It’s totally changed and that’s disappointing because it used to be something that most athletes looked forward to.”
Trump couldn’t hold a candle to the sportsmanship, the philanthropy, the community service, or the sense of unity that these national champions display.
Featured image via screen capture
