Dan Gilbert Says He Got Racist Calls After LeBron James Criticized Donald Trump

Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert said he received racist voicemails after Cavs superstar LeBron James called President Donald Trump a "bum" on social media.

On Friday, Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com passed along comments Gilbert made about the situation during an appearance on CNBC's Squawk Box.

"I received voicemails after LeBron tweeted that were some of the most vile, disgusting, racist [messages]," he said. "There's an element of racism that I didn't even realize existed in this country this much."

The dispute started last Friday when Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry confirmed he didn't want to make the traditional White House visit to celebrate the Dubs' 2017 NBA championship.

"My views haven't changed at all. I don't know if anybody's changed. But that's where I stand right now," he told reporters. "I don't want to go. That's my nucleus of my belief."

Trump responded on Twitter the next morning:

That drew a reaction from James, which received over 1.5 million "likes" on the social media platform:

Gilbert told Squawk Box he hadn't informed James about the messages he received.

"The thing is, I mean, some of the most disgusting things I've ever heard people say," he said. "And you could hear it in their voice—the racism. It wasn't even really about the issue, and that's what really got me, because they went to who they really are, some of them."

Trump has also made sports-related headlines in recent weeks for his polarizing comments suggesting NFL owners should fire players who don't stand for the national anthem.