Stephen Curry Talks Donald Trump Tweet, Protests, Veterans in Players' Tribune

Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry defended athletes taking political stances and wrote protests are not intended to disrespect the military and veterans. 

In an article for the Players' Tribune, Curry said he takes accusations of athletes taking a stance as a slight to the military "very, very seriously."

"One of the beliefs that I hold most dear is how proud I am to be an American—and how incredibly thankful I am for our troops," he wrote. "I know how fortunate I am to live in this country, and to do what I do for a living, and to raise my daughters in peace and prosperity. But I also hear from plenty of people who don't have it nearly as good as I do. Plenty of people who are genuinely struggling in this country. Especially our veterans."

Curry also addressed the tweet directed at him by President Donald Trump, who rescinded an offer to visit the White House after the Warriors guard said he would vote against making the trip:

"You probably don't need me to tell you this, but, man, it was … surreal. It was the morning before our first day of practice, so I was getting in a good sleep. And when I woke up—I mean before I even saw the tweet, or knew what was going on—I had about 30 text messages, all at once. Just blowing up my phone. They were all these friends of mine, just, like, defending me, and telling me that I was right, and, you know, not to worry about it."

Trump has mostly directed his comments about disrespecting the military toward NFL players; former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick started the movement of kneeling during the national anthem in 2016. 

At a September rally in Alabama, Trump told the crowd in attendance he would like to see NFL owners fire players who take a knee when the national anthem is playing. 

"This has to do with respect for our country and respect for our flag," Trump told reporters in October.

Curry said veterans he has spoken to told him "it's the opposite of disrespectful to them" when discussing the protests.

With Curry's article being published on Veterans Day, he ended by saying he wants to celebrate veterans "by having a conversation about the actual ways that we as civilians, as their fellow Americans they've fought to protect, can hold up our end of the bargain."