Politics are always tough to breach in the sports world. You’ll be yelled at for your opinions more often than not and it makes for awkward moments when the questions asked to athletes are too pointed. Two of the titans of their sport, LeBron James and Tom Brady took on questions in regard to Donald Trump differently, yet both were pretty efficient in their succinctness.
James recently endorsed Hilary Clinton for president and has taken a bold stance in a world where people don’t care about athlete’s political statements. As Trump’s “locker room talk” excuse has gained traction in the media, it should come as no surprise as to why James was asked about the idea of “locker room talk”.
“What is locker room talk to me? It’s not what that guy said. We don’t disrespect women in no shape or fashion in our locker room. That never comes up. I got a mother-in-law, a wife, a mom and a daughter and those conversations just don’t go on in our locker room. What goes on in our locker room is sporting events that might have happened the night before, or family, or strategies that we may have that night. A highlight that may have happened, if there was a home run in the bottom of the ninth or an alley-oop dunk play from the night before. That’s what happens in our locker room. What that guy was saying, I don’t know what that is. That’s trash talk.”
LeBron on Donald Trump: "That's not locker room talk. That's trash talk." pic.twitter.com/3optkXraM3
— Hayden Grove (@H_Grove) October 12, 2016
What makes it even more interesting is the fact that he refers to him as “that guy”. He must be hanging out with people from Ohio State too much, they know a little something about not naming a rival by name. It is refreshing to see James take such a stance after giving bland media answers for years.
While James addressed the question head on, Brady ignored a similar question, simply walking off stage and telling the media to “have a good day”.
A special thanks to the guy who asked Tom Brady about Donald Trump locker room talk and the end of his press conference #WBZ #Patriots pic.twitter.com/sCx59IArsw
— Joe Giza (@JoeGiza) October 12, 2016
While some may think the question is out of line, it is relevant given his affiliation to the Republican nominee. The response shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone, as answering the question would open up another can of worms that he probably doesn’t want to deal with in a mid-week press conference.
While one spoke eloquently about the issue, the other ignored it altogether. It is an interesting exercise for anyone paying attention to the current media climate. Everything is flipped upside down and any opinions you can get from a public figure becomes immediately culturally relevant.
What a world we live in.
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