Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry endorses shoes for Under Armour, so when that company's CEO had some praise for President Donald Trump this week -- calling him an asset to the country -- Curry's response to those words became Wednesday's NBA sound bite of the day:
"I agree with that description," Curry told the San Jose Mercury News, "if you remove the 'et.' "
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To be fair, Kevin Plank's comments were in response to a question about Trump's pro-business stance and not an endorsement of some of the President's more controversial immigration and social policies. But Curry heard enough to seek some answers that assured him that he and his shoe company share the same values.
The reigning NBA MVP told the Mercury News that Plank working with the President on his Manufacturing Jobs initiative isn't a disqualifier, but Curry's views about how he sees his role as an endorser and a role model were far more revealing than the "asset" sound bite:
"It's a fine line, but it's about how we're operating, how inclusive we are, what we stand for. He's the President. There are going to be people that are tied to them. But are we promoting change? Are we doing things that are going to look out for everybody? And not being so self-serving that it's only about making money, selling shoes, doing this and that. That's not the priority. It's about changing lives. I think we can continue to do that.
"If there is a situation where I can look at myself in the mirror and say they don't have my best intentions, they don't have the right attitude about taking care of people … if I can say the leadership is not in line with my core values, then there is no amount of money, there is no platform I wouldn't jump off if it wasn't in line with who I am. So that's a decision I will make every single day when I wake up. If something is not in line with what I'm about, then, yeah, I definitely need to take a stance in that respect."
So it doesn't sound like Curry will be switching shoe brands any time soon, but it's worth noting that he's holding the companies he deals with to a standard that matches his own.