United States President Donald Trump has confirmed that he will be in attendance for at least one of the games when the NBA Finals head to Madison Square Garden next weekend for Games 3 and 4 between the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs. However, longtime sports personality Stephen A. Smith is begging him to stay home.
During a recent episode of his SiriusXM radio show, Smith made it clear that he does not think it’s a good idea for Trump to attend the games, but the reason does not have anything to do with politics.
Trump Set to Attend NBA Finals
Last week, Trump acknowledged the possibility of attending at least one of the upcoming NBA Finals games in New York City’s Madison Square Garden, but he did not confirm his plans. This week, however, Trump confirmed that he would indeed be attending at least one of the games after he said he was invited by New York Knicks owner Jim Dolan.
“I’ve been a Knick fan for a long time, and I’m also a Jim Dolan fan. He’s a nice guy, OK? He spent a long time wanting to win and he’s a competitive guy and he’s got a team that’s amazing. I don’t think they’ve lost a playoff game. Can you imagine that?” Trump said of the Knicks on Thursday.
Trump did not indicate which game he would attend and left the possibility open that he could attend both of the NBA Finals games in Madison Square Garden.
‘I Don’t Want Him There’
During his SiriusXM radio show Friday, Smith made it clear that he does not think that Trump should attend either of the games, though he insisted that the opinion had “nothing to do with politics.” Smith just thinks that Trump’s presence at the game would only make an already crazy atmosphere worse.
“It has everything to do with him disrupting and contributing at the same time to the chaos that’s going to be existing at Madison Square Garden,” Smith said. “If it were Barack Obama coming to the Garden, I would say, ‘Stay home. Stay at the White House.’
“I have been covering sports for over 30 years. And I’m telling you right now, come Monday, for Game 3 of the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden, I expect to see an environment I have never seen in my entire career covering sports. You don’t understand. You don’t understand.”
The Knicks currently hold a 2-0 lead over the Spurs in the NBA Finals as the series heads to New York. The team has now won 13 straight playoff games and needs just two more wins to claim its first championship in 53 years, which it could get in Madison Square Garden next week.
Despite Smith’s pleas, it sounds like Trump will indeed be in attendance.
About Dave Kelsey
Contributing author to The Comeback.