BREAKING: NBA Stars Slams Trump for Turning NBA Finals Into a Security Nightmare
San Antonio Spurs All-Star De’Aaron Fox made clear what most players aren’t saying out loud: Trump’s presence at Game 3 of the NBA Finals is making life miserable for everyone involved.
Speaking during pregame shootaround at Madison Square Garden, Fox didn’t hold back, saying the president’s visit has made things “inconvenient on everybody else,” with buses running earlier, gear being screened like airport security, and Secret Service agents confiscating something as harmless as a chapstick lid.
Fox, a two-time All-Star who took home the NBA’s inaugural Clutch Player of the Year award, laughed it off publicly but the frustration was obvious. “Obviously, we’re getting screened like it’s TSA,” he said. “It’s a little inconvenient for the people that’s got to play.”
Trump was invited to the game by Knicks owner James Dolan and confirmed his attendance despite skipping his own son’s wedding over Memorial Day weekend due to the ongoing Iran War. In response to his visit, the Knicks issued a notice warning fans to expect TSA-style screening, a strict no-bag policy, and to arrive at least two hours before tip-off, mirroring the chaos Trump’s ICE deployments caused in airports across the country.
The frustration extended well beyond the court. Knicks legend Bill Bradley, who won two championships with the team and later served as a U.S. Senator, said flatly that Trump won’t be the center of attention. “Quite frankly, I don’t give a s–t what he does. What I care about is what the team does,” Bradley said. Sports commentator Stephen A. Smith, a lifelong Knicks fan, was even more direct: “I don’t want him there.”
Fans are furious too. Trump’s visit forced the cancellation of an outdoor watch party outside MSG, something that hadn’t happened since the Knicks’ last Finals appearance in 1999. When fans pushed back, Trump shrugged it off, telling people who couldn’t get tickets to just watch it on television. “That’s the way life goes,” he said.
For a president who loves to attach himself to winning, crashing the NBA Finals and then telling fans to stay home is a pretty telling sign of where his priorities actually are.