Pro sports teams no longer staying at Trump hotels: report

Professional sports teams across the nation have stopped staying at Trump hotels, according to a Washington Post investigation, with many citing the president’s divisiveness.

The newspaper reported that 16 of the 17 NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL teams that stayed at Trump hotels in recent years confirmed they will be checking in at other properties when traveling.

Though some of the teams told the Post that they stopped staying at Trump hotels for other reasons, like bus access, several confirmed that they pulled out because of Trump’s politics.

“The president has seemingly made a point of dividing us as best he can,” Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “He continually offends people, and so people don’t want to stay at his hotel. It’s pretty simple.”

President Trump singled out Steph Curry earlier this year, uninviting the Warriors star to the White House after Curry told reporters he did not want to go.

Trump has become embroiled in several feuds with professional athletes in recent weeks, particularly with NFL players who have knelt during the national anthem to protest racial inequality.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told the Post, however, that Trump’s attacks on sports teams were not related to the loss of business.

{mosads}“The president has repeatedly said he doesn’t care about his business, he cares about the country,” Sanders said in an email. “The president’s position on athletes standing for the National Anthem is about respecting the flag and the men and women of the military who sacrifice to defend it and nothing else.”

NBA teams paid about $20,000 per night at hotels like Trump SoHo in New York City, the post reported.

Most of the NBA teams that have recently stopped staying at Trump properties did so after the 2016–17 season, it added. But some, like the Dallas Mavericks and Indiana Pacers, did so as early as 2014, according to data the newspaper reviewed.

The Milwaukee Bucks stopped staying at Trump hotels after Trump clinched the GOP nomination.

After the presidential election, Bucks player Jabari Parker told Sporting News that he was “proud” to not stay at Trump-brand hotels.

“I don’t support someone who endorses hate on other people,” Parker said. “He ran his campaign on hate. He’s attacked everything that I am and believe.”