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Charles Oakley, the legendary Knicks forward known as the toughest man in the league recalls that Trump was a constant presence in that scene. I spoke with Oakley by phone throughout the afternoon and he told me that he remembers Donald Trump being around New York City and very cool with NBA athletes and other celebrities back then when he was a media mogul and worked in travel long before he became President of the United States. On this particular night the elevator at the Grand Hyatt was crowded. Inside stood Trump and Jayson Williams who was a 6’10” powerhouse for the Nets and Oakley. When the doors opened, Kobe Bryant walked in.
That search for respect hit a wall in the Grand Hyatt elevator. As the story goes Jayson Williams offered a casual greeting to the young Bryant. Kobe, perhaps distracted or simply possessing that singular aloof focus that would define his career gave a dismissive nod or a short response without making eye contact. Bryant was reportedly listening to a Walkman and while he heard the greeting he merely shrugged and slurred “Hey big man” without looking up. In the “Old School” code of the 90s NBA this was a cardinal sin. Williams was a man whose career was defined by both immense talent and a hair trigger temper and he took it as a personal insult. According to witnesses Williams lunged and shouted “Are you f—-n’ kidding me?” before landing a punch to Bryant’s cheek.
The confined space of an elevator is the last place you want to be when a 270 pound professional athlete decides to throw a punch. Williams reportedly swung at Bryant and the situation threatened to turn into a full blown brawl between a veteran who felt disrespected and a teenager who refused to back down. This is where the story shifts from a standard locker room scrap to a surreal piece of history. Donald Trump standing between the two giants didn’t head for the corner. He stepped into the fray. Trump later confirmed the lore during an interview with Jake Paul by stating that he was breaking up a fight. He noted that breaking up a fight is sometimes more dangerous than being in one. He liked Kobe and saw that Kobe was having a hard time with somebody but it worked out fine. Trump physically intervened and grabbed Williams and told Kobe to get out of there quickly. The doors opened and Bryant exited and a potential disaster for the NBA’s rising star was averted by the man who would eventually occupy the Oval Office. Interestingly when I spoke with Charles Oakley he mentioned that while he was there he does not personally remember the specific details of this elevator fight. However he noted that Jayson Williams tells the story often and he emphasized that Jayson is an awesome storyteller who brings these moments to life with incredible detail.
It’s not nearly as one-sided as the WNBA, but the NBA player base is undoubtedly Democrat-leaning. In a sample of 170 players in the 2024-25 season out of approximately 430 voting-eligible, there are 73 Democrats, 76 independents, 17 Republicans, and four affiliating with other political parties. The 32.9 percentage-point margin between the two major parties is smaller than in the other leagues examined thus far, but the political leanings of independents would need to be strongly Republican to eliminate this gap. Again, demography explains the partisan leaning of the player base here. The vast majority of the NBA is black, and young black men have historically been a strong constituency for the Democratic Party despite recent slippage. This also meant the league was a natural home for Black Lives Matter activism, including a strike during the playoffs after the killing of Jacob Blake. In Trump’s first term the champion Warriors (twice) and Raptors both did not visit the White House, effectively the first time players and the President collectively refused to participate in the tradition. Although the league saw the Big Four player to come out as gay in Jason Collins, the reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder did not hold a Pride Night last season, and the league has had its fair share of controversies over gay slurs.
Stephen A. Smith is “moving closer” to a 2028 presidential run, according to one national political correspondent. “Stephen A. Smith is moving closer to a 2028 campaign... spending a few days with him in recent months reminded me of spending a few days with Trump back in 2013-2014. Many laughed at the prospect of a bid. But in an age of celebrity and social media...,” posted Robert Costa, a national correspondent for @CBSSunday and the chief Washington analyst for @CBSNews. Stephen A. Smith told Costa: “I will confess to you, I’m giving strong consideration to being on that debate stage for 2027” and running for the Democratic nomination. “I’ve got this year coming up 2026, to think about it, to study, to know the issues.”
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San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones didn’t hold back during her first Town Hall of the new year, blasting Spurs owner and Dell Technologies founder Michael Dell for making a $6 billion donation in December to the White House’s Trump accounts program. “Michael Dell is an owner of the Spurs,” Jones said. “I wonder if he was able to do that because the city gave up — and the county gave up — so much money for the [new Spurs] arena. Because if you can give $6 billion for these accounts, you could have paid for your own arena.”
A White House event in which commissioners from five major sports leagues were to appear alongside President Donald Trump as he unveiled the latest plans for the celebration of the United States’ 250th anniversary has been postponed due to adverse weather conditions, according to four people familiar with planning for the event. The event was scheduled for Tuesday, but remained subject to change due to the weather and the president’s schedule. According to the people familiar with the event plans, who spoke on condition of anonymity Monday because they were not authorized to discuss the event publicly, the White House is seeking to reschedule the event, which it would prefer to do ahead of the Super Bowl. That may prove difficult, however, due to the continuing low temperatures and the challenge of ensuring all of those involved in the event can make it to the Oval Office at the same time on the same day.
ICE’s actions have been defended repeatedly by Bovino, Vance, Trump and DHS as necessary due to crime and danger caused by immigrants in the Twin Cities. It’s a familiar scenario to Chicagoans, who saw their city branded as a “hellhole” and “haven for criminals” during similar ICE campaigns over the last four months. Jones doesn’t believe this depiction of his hometown. He sees a different truth that doesn’t reflect federal officials’ rhetoric focused on violence. “People here know that it’s an amazing city built by amazing people,” Jones said. “It’s a great community here. People look out and stick up for one another. That’s what we see and feel. After some of the horrific things that happened here in the past five or six years, the community continues to come together and stick up for one another. That’s just how this city is.”
The commissioners of four major U.S. sports leagues are in conversations over being present at the Oval Office next week when President Donald Trump unveils the latest plans regarding the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the United States. Four people briefed on the planning, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the matter, confirmed to The Athletic that the NFL’s Roger Goodell, the NBA’s Adam Silver, the NHL’s Gary Bettman and MLB’s Rob Manfred are currently set to attend the event. The exact date may be subject to change in accordance with the president’s schedule and the schedules of those expected to be in attendance. The White House and the four major leagues did not respond to requests for comment.
The commissioners of four major U.S. sports leagues are in conversations over being present at the Oval Office next week when President Donald Trump unveils the latest plans regarding the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the United States. Four people briefed on the planning, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the matter, confirmed to The Athletic that the NFL’s Roger Goodell, the NBA’s Adam Silver, the NHL’s Gary Bettman and MLB’s Rob Manfred are currently set to attend the event.
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Moments before tipoff at Sunday’s NBA game in London, a heckler’s outburst about Greenland drew cheers from the crowd, highlighting growing tensions over President Donald Trump’s attempts to acquire the Arctic island. American singer Vanessa Williams was midway through her rendition of the “Star-Spangled Banner” at the O2 Arena — just before the Orlando Magic faced the Memphis Grizzlies — when the politically charged interruption took place. “Leave Greenland alone!” a man yelled from the stands, eliciting some claps, whistles and cheers from fellow spectators, video footage shows.
Former NBA player and member of the United States House of Representatives Tom McMillen reacted with alleged shock when confronted with his name appearing in the Jeffrey Epstein files. McMillen, 73, was a guest on the “Pablo Torre Finds Out” podcast on Tuesday, December 2, when he was confronted with his name appearing in the files, which were released by Congress in November.
McMillen’s handwritten name showed up in a 1993 flight log, weeks after he left Congress after serving the state of Maryland for six years and two months after he was seen chatting with Epstein and President Donald Trump in an NBC video to promote Trump’s Mar-a-Lago, which is also featured during the podcast episode. “I don’t recall, and I don’t think it’s accurate. I don’t recall,” said McMillen, who joined the podcast via video call. McMillen played in the NBA from 1975 to 1986 with the Buffalo Braves, New York Knicks, Atlanta Hawks and Washington Bullets. He served Maryland’s 4th District in the United States of Representatives from 1987 to 1993.
McMillen then announced he would be ending the interview abruptly. “I’m going to leave,” McMillen told Torre. “I’m sorry, I wanted to talk about the good things and some of the things about college sports and so forth.” McMillen added, “This is so long ago. I bet you don’t recall 35 years ago. So, let’s sign off. Give me your final question. What is it?” Torre asked McMillen if he had any “final comment” to help set the record straight. “I haven’t had any relationship with [Epstein] since the early ‘90s,” McMillen said. “So, I think that’s it. A lot of people knew him. I barely knew him. So, let’s move on.”