Lebron James, Stephen Curry on White House visit: ‘No one wants the invite’

Photo: Scott Strazzante / The Chronicle Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry during press conference in...

CLEVELAND — Two of basketball’s biggest names seized the spotlight of the NBA Finals to criticize President Trump for his ongoing dispute with the Philadelphia Eagles, upping the ante in the fight of words and beliefs.

Stephen Curry of the Warriors and LeBron James of the Cavaliers criticized the president in news conferences Tuesday at Quicken Loans Arena, reacting to the news that Trump dis-invited the Super Bowl champion Eagles from a White House visit after several of the players indicated they would not make that trip. Warriors head coach Steve Kerr also addressed the issue.

Curry, James and Kerr have discussed the topic many times before, and much of what they said broke no new ground, except:

•James said, “I mean, I know no matter who wins this series, no one wants the invite (to the White House), anyway. So it won’t be Golden State or Cleveland going.”

•Curry concurred: “I hope to be in that situation and win two more games where we win a championship and obviously know what comes with that. But I think I agree with LeBron. Pretty sure the way we handled things last year, kind of stay consistent with that.”

(The Warriors did not visit the White House to celebrate their 2017 championship after Trump dis-invited them via Twitter, saying “Stephen Curry is hesitating, therefore invitation is withdrawn!)

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•Kerr, asked whether he would be OK with one of his players protesting during the national anthem, said, “Yeah, of course, because you have to understand that what players have protested is not the military. They’re protesting police brutality and racial inequality. So if any American wants to protest that anytime, that’s their right as Americans. That’s what the military fights for, is free speech. So I would be perfectly fine with any of our players doing so.”

The NBA has a collectively bargained rule that players must stand at attention during the anthem, but that rule dates back a couple of decades, and it was intended, as one league source said Tuesday, to make sure that players weren’t shooting jump shots during the anthem.

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Asked what the league would do to punish someone who kneels, theoretically a rule-breaker, the source said, “Nothing.”

Trump, on Monday, reiterated his belief that athletes must stand for the anthem. In his statement about the Eagles, he added “with hands over hearts.”

When it looked like NFL owners might go too soft on protesting players, Trump pushed the owners to get tough, and he seemed pleased with that league’s recent rule that players can stay in the locker room during the anthem, but if they’re on the field, they must stand, or face consequences.

Maybe the president will ignore the blasts coming out of Cleveland on Tuesday, but in the past, he has used his anti-protest pronouncements to fire up his base.

“I think the president has made it pretty clear he’s going to try to divide us, all of us in this country, for political gain,” Kerr said Tuesday. “So it’s just the way it is. I think we all look forward to the day when we can go back to just having a celebration of athletic achievement and celebrate Americans for their achievement, their good deeds.

“The irony is that the Eagles have been nothing but fantastic citizens in their own community. They’ve done so much good. I’ve read a lot about their team. Malcolm Jenkins, Chris Long — these guys are studs. They’re amazing.”

“So it will be nice when we can just get back to normal in three years.”

Curry started the discussion on whether teams would visit the White House. Before training camp, he said he and the Warriors wouldn’t go, if invited, so Trump quickly dis-invited them.

Curry said Tuesday that he hoped to be in the same position again, winning a title and therefore being the subject of White House visit talk:

“Every team has an opportunity to make a decision for themselves and speak for themselves. I think that’s powerful, being in this situation.”

Scott Ostler is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. Email: sostler@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @scottostler