Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry on Tuesday thanked President Biden for “getting Brittney Griner home” as the famed point guard delivered remarks in an appearance in the White House briefing room.
Standing alongside Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, Curry told reporters being at the White House was a “great opportunity for us from the basketball community to thank President Biden and his staff for all their hard work and diligence on getting Brittney Griner home, who is a big part of our basketball family.”
WNBA player Griner landed in Texas last month after a U.S.-Russia prisoner swap ended her 10 months of detention.
“It means a lot to know that she’s here,” Curry, 34, said of Griner, “and all the work that went on behind the scenes to make that a reality. So I just want to say thank you.”
Curry’s briefing room visit came ahead of a ceremony at the White House honoring the Golden State Warriors’ 2022 NBA championship.
In 2017, then-President Trump rescinded a championship celebration invite to the Warriors to visit the White House after Curry said he didn’t “want to go.”
“That’s the nucleus of my belief,” Curry, who had earlier in the year referred to Trump as an “ass,” said at the time.
“I want to thank President Biden and Vice President Harris for the invitation to come here,” Curry said Tuesday. “It’s something that we don’t ever take for granted.”
Curry said the team’s White House visit served as a chance to reflect on last year’s championship and to “acknowledge the place sports has in bringing people together from all walks of life, all backgrounds, to provide inspiration, hope, love, togetherness.”
Ahead of their brief comments, White House press secretary Karine Jeane-Pierre quipped to Kerr, “Coach, I almost went pro.”
“But you know, being 5 foot 2, 5 foot 3 — didn’t make it happen,” she added to laughs.