OAKLAND, Calif. -- Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry defended a controversial comment he made on Wednesday about President Trump, CBS San Francisco reports.
In an interview with the San Jose Mercury News, Curry was asked about comments made by Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank in support of President Trump, calling him an asset for the nation. Curry has a lucrative endorsement deal with the sports shoe and apparel company and is very much the public face of the company.
“I agree with that description,” Curry told the newspaper, “if you remove the ‘et’ from asset.”
Later, after the Warriors’ 132-92 win over Chicago, Curry said he “needed to say what I needed to say.”
The comment was quite out of character for the Golden State star who generally keeps his political views to himself.
But Plank’s comments during a CNBC interview sparked him to speak out.
Curry said he had been on the phone with several people at Under Armour trying to understand “where everyone stood on the issue.”
Curry was asked if he’d walk away from such a lucrative deal.
“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,” he told the paper. “So that’s a decision I will make every single day when I wake up.”
After Wednesday night’s game, Curry was again asked about his feelings. He didn’t back down.
“I’d rather not be in that position obviously, but at the end of the day when you need to speak for yourself and make it known how you feel, you don’t shy away from those opportunities,” he said. “(I was) making sure I needed to say what I needed to say.”
