{"id":10150,"date":"2017-02-15T09:57:00","date_gmt":"2017-02-15T09:57:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/associatednews.us\/content\/2017\/02\/15\/with-politics-nba-speaks-its-mind\/"},"modified":"2017-02-15T09:57:00","modified_gmt":"2017-02-15T09:57:00","slug":"with-politics-nba-speaks-its-mind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/associatednews.us\/content\/with-politics-nba-speaks-its-mind\/","title":{"rendered":"With Politics, NBA Speaks Its Mind"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Pablo Torre<\/a><\/span> <\/p>\n

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\n Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James is one of many NBA figures who’s recent comments have veered into current politics.<\/p>\n

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Nick Wass\/AP<\/p>\n

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Nick Wass\/AP<\/p>\n

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Athletics as escapism makes sense. A recent New York Times<\/em><\/a> op-ed writer reminded us that that talking sports offers a “way for people who have diametrically opposed politics to share a beer at a bar.”<\/p>\n

Well, if you enjoy sports only as an escape from political give and take, there’s some bad news: You can no longer enjoy the NBA.<\/p>\n

Take this past Wednesday, which began with LeBron James \u2014 the defending NBA champ \u2014 addressing Donald Trump’s travel ban head on. “I stand with the many, many Americans who believe this does not represent what the United States is all about,” James told The Hollywood Reporter<\/em><\/a>. “We should continue to speak out about it.”<\/p>\n

That same day, Steph Curry \u2014 the defending MVP \u2014 publicly parted ways with the CEO of Under Armour, his corporate partner, who’d called Trump an “asset” to America. “I agree with the description,” Curry told The<\/em>Mercury News<\/em><\/a>. “If you remove the ‘-et’ from asset.”<\/p>\n

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