FOXBOROUGH, Massachusetts – LeBron James blasted Donald Trump’s crude remarks about women, calling it “trash talk” while refusing to even say the Republican presidential nominee’s name. Tom Brady walked away from a news conference when asked about the candidate he has previously supported.
The responses Wednesday from two of the biggest superstars in sports showed how much the 2005 video Trump has dismissed as “locker room talk” reverberated through the athletic world, with a growing list of current and former professional athletes weighing in on Trump’s vulgar comments about grabbing women’s genitals and trying to have sex with married women besides his own wife.
“What is locker room talk to me? It’s not what that guy said,” James said. “We don’t disrespect women in no shape or fashion in our locker room. That never comes up. Obviously, I got a mother-in-law, a wife, a mom and a daughter and those conversations just don’t go on in our locker room.”
James, who led the Cleveland Cavaliers to the NBA championship last season, said the conversations he’s used to hearing in the dressing room have to do more with family, game strategy and other sports-related banter.
“What that guy was saying, I don’t know what that is. That’s trash talk,” he said.
Trump’s opponent, Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton retweeted video of the NBA star’s reaction to Trump’s comments on her Twitter account. Clinton received an endorsement from James earlier this month.
Meanwhile in Massachusetts, Brady had no interest in wading into the issue when asked at the end of his weekly news conference about how he would respond if his kids heard Trump’s version of “locker room talk.”
The Patriots quarterback smiled, then said, “Thank you guys, have a good day,” and walked away.
Brady was spotted with one of Trump’s “Make America Great Again” hats in his locker last year. He walked back a comment he made saying he thought it “would be great” if Trump became president, saying it was an example of why he tries to say as little as possible when speaking publicly. He had also joked about Trump possibly putting a putting green on the White House lawn.
Brady and Trump have golfed together, and Trump has mentioned Brady’s support on the campaign trail.
In Houston, Texans linebacker Jadeveon Clowney said his teammates don’t speak as Trump described.
“We keep it clean,” Clowney said. “I don’t know where he [gets] that from. I have to check him on that. We don’t use that tone in here.”
Trump apologized for the comments in the video and tried to downplay them in a debate this week as words only.
KYLE HIGHTOWER
