During Thursday’s episode of “The View,” co-host Whoopi Goldberg made a compelling case for why the New York Knicks should hit up the White House, pointing out that “no NBA team has ever accepted an invite” while Donald Trump was in office.
Goldberg caught her fellow panelists and the audience off guard when she declared, “I want them to go,” following Knicks owner James Dolan’s confirmation that the team had accepted an invite, although the specifics are still being hashed out.
“I want all those Black men to stand in our house and remind all of those people, as we tried to remind the vice president, that when you try to destroy one part of history, you’re destroying all of our histories,” she emphasized, referencing Vice President JD Vance’s recent appearance on the show.
“And they, as champions — not only as amazing basketball players, but as people who were down and came back up — this is what this looks like,” she added, driving her point home.
“So, I want them to go. I want them to go. If only so the kids know that nobody — nobody — can keep you down if you are rising up,” she passionately stated.
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Even though the Knicks ultimately took the finals 4-1 against the San Antonio Spurs, they faced struggles, trailing the Spurs in the first quarter of each game and overcoming significant deficits to clinch their victories.
Before Goldberg’s remarks, her fellow panelists expressed some concerns about the potential visit. Co-host Sara Haines highlighted that Dolan’s friendship with Trump puts “players in a precarious position.”
“It’s not fair to take any of the flowers and the beauty of this moment and its unity and try to then place it on the players’ backs,” she remarked.
Joy Behar shared her mixed feelings, admitting, “I’m feeling two ways about it. Like, yes, maybe you have to respect the White House. You don’t have to respect who’s in the White House, though.”