What NBA players and coaches are saying about Trump, protests
— -- It's media day for many teams around the league. Here's what NBA players, coaches and executives are saying in response to President Donald Trump's comments over the weekend about the Warriors, NFL protests and the intersection of politics and sports.
This file will be updated throughout the day.
As I have this platform, I will lend my voice, my passion, my money to let these kids know there is hope, greater walks of life. No one individual can stop your dreams from being a reality."
"I would make it a lot harder to get guns, No. 1. I mean kids have access to guns in this country, and we [are not] even talking about it. Kids are killing each other at alarming rates, and it's still so easy to buy guns, to buy bullets.?
"I would make more of an investment in the communities in the hood. There definitely needs to be more of an investment by these politicians. I think that's where violence prevention starts, in these community centers. And if you go into these neighborhoods, there's not much going on. So I think if we can invest in the kids, I think the violence will go down."
"I think by the time we win the championship, which hopefully would be next summer, the world will be in a whole better place; the president will be in a better place. And we'd have an opportunity to go to the White House. We don't know. Life happens. But the trophy is the most important thing."
"You know, if we're going to protest something, I want it to be for the actual issues at hand instead of just being spiteful."
"There's a lot of issues going on around the world. Puerto Rico doesn't have water or power -- they're still a part of the U.S. -- but you're worried about guys kneeling during the national anthem. Well, if you would actually look at the reason that they're kneeling versus your own personal pleasure, then you'd fully understand. But until you do that, you're not going to understand.
"I disagree with what he's doing. I disagree with his thoughts. Hopefully as a nation we can come together better and understand what's really at stake here and the disasters that are really going on in everyday life."
"I just feel bad because when I look at America, when I was at a young age, it's about freedom of religion, freedom of speech, now all of these amazing people are going through this tough time, and it's breaking my heart. I'm not from here. I'm from Turkey. But still going through this with these guys, I feel them because I'm going through the same things with my country, too. It's tough, but I'm praying for you guys."
"Guys like him, LeBron, some of those stars in the NBA who have spoken out, took their stands and have been positive and great leaders. I mean, if you can't look at the president as somebody who you can look up to, you have other people who you know their names that can set a good precedent for the way kids should act in this day and age." "
"It is disheartening to see right now the divisiveness. We support our players and the other teams for their right to express themselves in a nonviolent way for a cause that needs to be addressed."
"Ultimately, each of our players will choose that. We talk about that. We talk about trying to use, again, our platform to have positive discussion to talk about things like uniting. To talk all the time about, leaders unite and inspire people and misleaders divide. "
