Who can forget that time that Stephen Curry declined President Trump's invitation to the White House (or the how Trump withdrew the invitation after)? As you may recall, the epic climax of that moment was LeBron James' "U Bum" tweet.
It's no secret that James isn't a fan of Trump's, but the New York Times reports that in the latest round of the Trump-James war, the Cavs star is putting his money where his tweets are.
Apparently, the Trump Soho in New York was once a popular place for sports teams to stay while in town. Thanks to James, that is no longer the case.
When the Cavs looked at staying at the hotel last year, James wasn't having it. His teammates and the rest of the Cavs staff honored James' wishes, and they booked accommodation at a hotel with no relationship to the president.
According to The Score, that move had a ripple effect in the NBA, with other teams such as Phoenix Suns, Washington Wizards and Toronto Raptors also refusing to stay at the hotel.
And it wasn't just basketball players eschewing the Trump property. The Times reports that corporate clients stopped staying at the hotel as well.
This was bad for the Trump family, of course, but also for the hotel's staff. For instance, porters who had made up to $60,000 in tips the year before LeBron set off the boycott, found their wages cut in half.
The CIM Group, the majority owner of the hotel, had a deal in place with Trump to use his name. Now, that deal is no more, and Trump's name is coming off the building.
In the NYT report, a German man, who requested to remain anonymous, perfectly encapsulated many people's feelings about the hotel and why they choose not to stay there.
“We have the feeling, that when you go somewhere and you say to a taxi driver, and they say, ‘Where are you going?’ and we say, ‘Trump hotel,’ it’s a political statement,” the man said. “They believe that the people who are coming here are supporters of Trump, and the people who are not supporters of Trump are not coming here.”
Now, no one will have to worry about that. The hotel's new name will be revealed at the end of next month.
