The Denver Nuggets sparked controversy last week after a national basketball insider reported that the 2023 NBA champions would skip their White House visit with President Joe Biden as they focused on consolidating the single seed in the Western Conference.
Reporter Chris Haynes of TNT claimed the Nuggets were “prioritizing that number one seed” and doing “everything they could to get to that pre-playoff spot” before the postseason began on June 6 . “Basketball decision” to cancel the White House visit, which was supposed to take place on March 18 after being postponed from June due to a scheduling issue with the Biden administration.
However, Haynes apparently received bad information.
“Contrary to recent reports, our goal is not to be the No. 1 seed,” coach Michael Malone told reporters on Monday, March 11, according to Harrison Wind of DNVR.
As of March 13, the Nuggets are 45-20 and tied with the Oklahoma City Thunder for the best record in the Western Conference, but the Thunder are currently the top seed thanks to a 3-1 record against the Nuggets.
“That’s not why we canceled the trip to the White House,” Malone added Monday. “I don’t know where these things come from. If we get first place, great.”
Wind explained on Wind said later Western word in a follow-up post, the team worried it might be too much for the players.
“Their top priority is to stay healthy,” Wind said.
Their top priority is to stay healthy. https://t.co/zWGt8EcJI7
–Harrison Wind (@HarrisonWind) March 12, 2024
Some X users wondered how a trip to Washington to see the president would affect players’ health, while others noted that exhaustion and fatigue could eventually lead to injuries. The Nuggets did not respond to requests for comment.
The decision to abandon POTUS sparked some outrage from political figures and media figures, including NBA legend and TNT analyst Charles Barkley.
“Are they flying southwest or something?” asked Barkley on-air on March 7. “Come on, man. In fact, I have a problem with everything that has happened in sports in recent years, not just now. »
Nuggets join Warriors, Raptors and Lakers on NBA no-show list
There are now four different NBA teams that have not visited the White House since 2017.
Under the Trump and Biden presidencies, the Golden State Warriors, Toronto Raptors and Los Angeles Lakers were all absent following their championship victories.
“It’s an honor and a privilege to go to the White House,” Barkley continued on TNT. “It doesn’t matter who is in the White House. It’s an honor and a privilege to go to the White House. You should always go.”
The Warriors ended up missing their trip to Washington after winning championships in 2017 and 2018 for one simple reason: Trump didn’t invite them. Raptors players said they would refuse to go after winning the 2019 NBA title before an invitation was issued (it never was); the Lakers opted to skip 2020 and 2021 due to COVID protocols and scheduling issues.
In 2021, the streak ended with the Milwaukee Bucks visiting President Joe Biden at the start of the season in November — something people pointed out as what the administration should have done this year with the Nuggets.
The Warriors won the title in 2022 and visited President Biden in January 2023.
The Colorado Avalanche were forced to miss the team’s visit to the White House after winning the 2022 Stanley Cup.
NHLPA
Other sports teams that missed their chance
Although NBA teams have received most of the criticism for not visiting the White House, it’s not just professional basketball that has been absent in Washington DC.
The Colorado Avalanche were unable to travel to the White House during the 2022-23 NHL season due to scheduling reasons after winning the 2022 Stanley Cup. They visited President Bill Clinton after having won the cup in 1996. However, only eight players were present.
While Trump was in office from 2016 to 2020, ten of the twenty sports teams that won championships did not meet him. Many were not invited, but some refused the offer.
The 2016-17 North Carolina Tar Heels team that beat Gonzaga for the NCAA Division I men’s basketball championship was unable to attend due to scheduling issues. The 2017 Super Bowl champions, the Philadelphia Eagles, were disinvited by Trump after a majority of players refused to accept his invitation.
“The Philadelphia Eagles cannot come to the White House with their entire team to be celebrated tomorrow,” Trump said in a 2018 statement.
“They disagree with their president because he insists that they proudly stand for the national anthem, with their hands on their hearts, in honor of the great men and women of our military and people of our country,” Trump said at the time. “The Eagles wanted to send a smaller delegation, but the 1,000 fans who plan to attend the event deserve better. Those fans are still invited to the White House to take part in a different type of ceremony – a ceremony who will honor our great country, will pay tribute to the heroes who fight to protect it and who play the national anthem loud and clear.
The Denver Broncos visited the White House after winning the team’s first Super Bowl in 1998 against the Green Bay Packers and also in 2016 after winning a third championship against the Carolina Panthers.
