Golden State Warriors point guard Steph Curry, who recently extended his contract with Under Armour through 2024, disagrees with CEO’s Donald Trump comment. (Noah Salzman/Wikimedia Commons)
Golden State Warriors player Stephen Curry took issue with Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank’s support for President Donald Trump before learning he was only talking about businesses.
On Wednesday, Feb. 8, the nonpolitical point guard responded to Plank’s comments to CNBC, where he said having “such a pro-business president is something that is a real asset for the country.” When Curry was asked if he agreed, he told The Mercury News, he did, “If you remove the -et” from “asset.”
Curry, who has a shoe line with Under Armour, went on to explain he believed he knew where Plank’s political allegiance was, so he was surprised to hear such praise for the president who has sparked controversy for his racist rhetoric and policies.
“I spent all day yesterday on the phone with countless people at Under Armour, countless people in Kevin Plank’s camp, my team,” Curry told the newspaper. “Trying to understand what was going on and where everybody stood on the issue. Based off the release that KP sent out this morning and what he told me last night, that’s the Under Armour that I know. That’s the brand I know he’s built and one that, as of Wednesday afternoon, is something that I’m standing on.”
After Plank informed Curry that he only praised Trump’s business acumen Feb. 7, Under Armour released a statement the next day saying it was part of a group of companies the president invited to discuss American job creation.
Curry, who noted he did not vote for Trump, wasn’t worried about Plank working with the Commander in Chief, but he was concerned about the company maintaining its values outside of the president’s own.
“There are going to be people that are tied to them,” he said. “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.”
He added he would have no hesitation about leaving the clothing brand if they cease to fall in line with his principles.
“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,” Curry said. “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.”
