Words by Jason Cordner
Since Donald Trump wants to be petty towards the Golden State Warriors, you knew it would be a matter of time before other teams see the POTUS for who he really is. North Carolina’s 2017 National Championship Men’s Basketball team will not visit the White House, a team spokesman said on Saturday. Though the Tar Heels were invited to visit, as is the custom for teams that win college men’s basketball and football national championships.
While it is easy to draw a connection between the outcry over Trump’s recent comments on Colin Kaepernick and his right to protest followed by his comments on Golden State Warriors’ point guard and NBA superstar Stephen Curry and the backlash from athletes across all sports, the decision by the university to forgo the usual National Championship White House visit has to do with scheduling issues and not a political statement.
As reported by Jeff Goodman, a UNC spokesman told ESPN that “the team and Coach [Roy] Williams wanted to go, but we couldn’t find a date that worked for everyone.” In fact, it seems as if it was a scheduling conflict with the White House and not UNC, as he goes on to say “We offered up eight or nine dates, but none of them worked.”
It is all about winning in college basketball these days, and, if the team does not have time to visit the White House, then the team should not have to visit the White House. Likewise, things are busy in Washington, and, although the press would be great due to recent events, sometimes things just do not work out.
The Tar Heels can spin it anyway they would like, but knowing how petty Donald Trump is, I sure we can expect him to address this situation as well. Stay tuned.
