Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry questions Trump, Under Armour ties
Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry has expressed concern over Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank calling President Donald Trump an “asset” to the country in a CNBC interview.
Curry, who grew up in Charlotte and starred for Davidson College, told the San Jose Mercury News’ Marcus Thompson, “I agree with that description, if you remove the ‘et’ ” from “asset.”
Curry has close ties to Trump’s predecessor, Barack Obama, the first African-American to hold the office. Curry and his father, Charlotte Hornets color analyst Dell Curry, have played golf with Obama often during Curry’s off-seasons.
Curry is one of Under Armour’s top endorsers. Under Armour signed Curry to a contract extension in 2015 that reportedly runs through 2024 and includes an equity stake in the company.
Curry contacted Under Armour officials this week to seek context for Plank’s comment.
“I spent all day yesterday on the phone,” Curry told Thompson.
Curry said Plank explained that his comments were exclusively about Trump, a Republican, creating a more business-friendly environment. The stock market has risen since Trump defeated Hillary Clinton, with the Dow crossing 20,000 points.
Plank distanced himself from Trump comments that have enraged many women, Muslims and African-Americans in recent weeks.
Curry said Plank supporting Trump wouldn’t necessarily undermine his relationship with the company. Rather, he wanted clarity that Under Armour wasn’t adopting Trump’s views on social issues.
This is the second time Curry has publicly dealt with political issues in the past six months. He said in September he was concerned with North Carolina’s House Bill 2, which some view as discriminatory toward the LGBT community. As a result of HB2, the NBA moved this month’s All-Star Weekend from Charlotte to New Orleans.
“I think it’s unfortunate for our city (Charlotte) and our state to be under the microscope with HB2 and how it’s unfolded,” Curry told the Associated Press. “I’m all for equal and fair rights and treatment for everybody.
“Until it gets addressed, until some changes are made, this could be a recurring theme in North Carolina. I don’t want that to happen.”
The NBA has promised the 2019 All-Star Game will be in Charlotte if HB2 is repealed. So far there has been a stalemate among Republicans and Democrats in the North Carolina legislature about such a repeal.
This story was originally published February 8, 2017 at 8:40 PM with the headline "Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry questions Trump, Under Armour ties."