Most pro sports teams have stopped staying at Trump hotels

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Numerous professional sports teams across the NBA, MLB, and NHL have all stopped staying at Trump properties since the start of his political career, according to a report from Tim Bontemps and David Farenthold of the Washington Post.

Most notably, the Trump SoHo hotel, which used to serve as a regular home-away-from-home for NBA teams staying in New York, has been dropped by at least 11 teams across the NBA since President Trump began his campaign in 2015.

The Toronto Raptors, Phoenix Suns, Houston Rockets, Sacramento Kings and Washington Wizards have all stopped staying at the Trump SoHo just this past season, now seeking out other accommodations when traveling to New York.

And according to Bontemps and Farenthold’s reporting, the number of teams that have dropped ties with Trump hotels could actually be higher:

In all, The Post found that 17 teams from across the four major sports had stayed at Trump properties in recent years. Now, at least 16 are no longer customers.

“The president has seemingly made a point of dividing us as best he can,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr told The Post in an interview this week, explaining the shift. His team quit using Trump SoHo in 2016. “He continually offends people, and so people don’t want to stay at his hotel. It’s pretty simple.”

The Post reached out to all 123 teams in the four major U.S. sports leagues to find out how many men’s teams are still Trump customers. A total of 105 responded. Not a single team confirmed its players stay at Trump properties.

President Trump has made a point to blur the lines between politics and sports, most recently stating that he believed NFL players that protest during the national anthem should be fired and uninviting Steph Curry to the White House after Curry had already said he would not go.

In response, athletes have gotten more political as well, with players like LeBron James and Marshawn Lynch speaking out strongly against the president, with both their words and actions.

Still, it’s not clear if teams’ decisions to take their business away from Trump properties is explicitly due to the president’s politics — many of the teams Farenthold interviewed declined to comment on the specifics of why they were going elsewhere.

Individual players however, have spoken out as against the president and his hotels. Speaking with Sporting News last year, Bucks forward Jabari Parker opened up about how he felt after his team stopped staying at Trump hotels on road trips.

"I’m proud to not stay in Trump hotels," Parker said. "I don’t support someone who endorses hate on other people. He ran his campaign on hate. He’s attacked everything that I am and believe."

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