For the last couple of years, Steph Curry has skirted the subject of politics while dropping hints about where he stands. He played golf with President Obama multiples times and publicly opposed the anti-LGBT law in North Carolina, but he hadn’t spoken out against (or for) Donald Trump like many of his fellow star athletes had.
That changed Wednesday, when Curry was asked about Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank’s comment that Trump was “an asset” to the country.
“I agree with that description, if you remove the ‘et’ from asset,” Curry told the Mercury News.
Curry, who is Under Armour’s highest profile endorser, didn’t go into specifics about his politics but said he did not vote for Trump and objected to some of the president’s policies. He also said that Plank had reassured him that he opposed much of what Trump stood for and had made his “asset” comment with business in mind.
Curry said he would end his relationship with Under Armour if he felt the apparel company if he didn’t like what it stood for but didn’t think that was the case currently.
Curry said Plank working with Trump isn’t a deal-breaker for him.. He is more concerned about Under Armour adopting Trump’s values, he said.
“It’s a fine line but it’s about how we’re operating,” Curry said, “how inclusive we are, what we stand for. He’s the President. There are going to be people that are tied to them. But are we promoting change? Are we doing things that are going to look out for everybody? And not being so self-serving that it’s only about making money, selling shoes, doing this and that. That’s not the priority. It’s about changing lives. I think we can continue to do that.”
But would Curry really leave Under Armour, the company that helped launch his empire, if he didn’t like the direction of the company?
“If there is a situation where I can look at myself in the mirror and say they don’t have my best intentions, they don’t have the right attitude about taking care of people,” Curry said. “If I can say the leadership is not in line with my core values, then there is no amount of money, there is no platform I wouldn’t jump off if it wasn’t in line with who I am. So that’s a decision I will make every single day when I wake up. If something is not in line with what I’m about, then, yeah, I definitely need to take a stance in that respect.”
Curry is Under Armour’s top star and one of the most marketable athletes in the country, so he’s probably got enough clout to affect the company’s public statements on Trump. Plank will surely hesitate before praising Trump again.
It will be fascinating to watch how the NBA responds to Trump. The league—from coaches to players to owners—seems to be pretty universally against the president, and stars like Curry will have plenty of chances to voice their opposition.
