Sports teams visiting the White House has been a part of American History for centuries.
The first visit dates back to 1865 when President Andrew Johnson welcomed the Brooklyn Atlantics and Washington Nationals, both professional amateur baseball teams. President Johnson was a supporter of the Nationals and was a spectator at an exhibition game between the two teams.
President Ulysses S. Grant was the first to welcome a professional sports organization (Cincinnati Red Stockings) to the White House in 1869. However, it’s believed that the first championship team to be welcomed to the White House was the 1924 Washington Senators.
Further along in history, the first NBA Championship team, the Boston Celtics, were hosted at the White House by President John F. Kennedy, and the first NCAA Championship team, Indiana University Men’s Basketball, was welcomed in 1976 by President Gerald Ford. Additionally, President Jimmy Carter welcomed the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1980, marking the organization as the first Super Bowl Champion to visit the White House.
Although several title-winning teams were occasionally invited to the White House, it did not become a “regular occurrence” until President Ronald Reagan welcomed the New York Giants in 1987, setting the tone for his successors.
Fast forward to present-day - about a dozen teams, college, and professional visit the White House each year. As another part of the tradition, when the teams make their visits to the capital, some fulfill an act of charity within the Washington D.C. community. For example, the San Antonio Spurs met with wounded warriors and the U.S. Women’s Soccer team “held a youth clinic to promote fitness.”
Over the years, there have been players that opted out of visiting the president because of their political beliefs or for other personal circumstances. But, this year is the first where an entire team has decided as a unit to skip the visit entirely.
When they were invited to the White House, the NBA Champion Golden State Warriors “rejected and rescinded” the offer.
Instead, they decided to take a visit to the African American Museum of History in Washington D.C. with students from small forward, Kevin Durant’s hometown of Seat Pleasant, Maryland, located only eight miles from the White House.
On February 27, the “Warriors spent Tuesday at the museum with 40 students from Seat Pleasant and 10 more from the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, which helps children who have lost loved ones that served in the military. The private museum tour lasted three hours.”
In line with several others’ past disagreements with some presidents, Warriors’ guard, Stephen Curry believes that the team allocated their time in Washington D.C. better by visiting the African American Museum.
"Rhetoric and hate and just general disdain from the top, trying to be divisive and whatnot, has had the opposite reaction from what it intended," Curry added. "We've done our part, I think, to try to further that message."
Several members of the NBA, have spoken out against our nation’s leader prior to the Warriors’ declining the invitation to the White House. However, despite political beliefs, they decided to change the narrative and turn it into a positive event.
"The kids -- their smiles lit up the room," Kerr said. "Our guys understand how much of an impact they can make on these kids. It's a reminder of how powerful sports can be and how transformative sports can be for change."