Ronald Tillery

ronald.tillery@commercialappeal.com

Grizzlies coach David Fizdale refuted an ESPN report that the team has stopped staying at Donald Trump-branded hotels to avoid any perceived association with the president-elect.



"No, no truth to that," Fizdale said Wednesday. "Our decision as to what hotels we stay in are made long before any of this election stuff took place.

"There's no story here."

Take 5: Griz boycotting Trump?

The ESPN report, citing sources, said the Grizzlies, Milwaukee Bucks and Dallas Mavericks "have moved away from Trump hotels in New York City and Chicago, which bear Donald Trump's name through a licensing agreement," and that the moves were made "in part to avoid any implied association with the new president-elect."

Asked what he thought when he heard about the ESPN report, Fizdale said, "I really didn't even have an opinion about it. It is what it is."

Fizdale's comments came at the Grizzlies' shootaround in Los Angeles, hours before their game with the Clippers.



