The world’s biggest basketball star, LeBron James, says his decision to stay elsewhere than the Trump SoHo hotel with his teammates on a road trip in New York City is not an attempt “to make a statement,” but rather a matter of taste.
“It’s just my personal preference. It would be the same if I went to a restaurant and decided to eat chicken or not steak,” James, who supported Hillary Clinton during the presidential campaign, told reporters Wednesday morning. It was reported that as many as half of the Cleveland Cavaliers roster, James’s team, would decline to sleep Tuesday night inside the Trump-branded property before a game against the New York Knicks Wednesday. The Cavs have a contract with the Trump SoHo for their regular season visits to the city, tied to the possibility that they would also stay there during the NBA playoffs should they face the Knicks or the Brooklyn Nets.
Several pro athletes have responded publicly to Donald Trump’s election as president, including James. “Time to educate and even more mold my children into being the greatest model citizens they can become in life,” he wrote in an Instagram post after Election Day. “Even if who’s now in office doesn’t, know that I LOVE YOU,” he told his fans.
James added Wednesday that “at the end of the day, I hope [Trump] is one of the best presidents ever, for all of our sakes—my family, for all of us.”
